Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Sep 30 MR - Hyperglycemia Potpourri

Hyperglycemic Crises in Diabetes - review article from the ADA with great references and resources, covers the topics discussed today.  Read this and you will know enough for boards and most patient care scenarios.  Read and know the rest and you will be an internist.

Two contrasting cases of significant hyperglycemia - classic DKA and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic state (HHNS) also formerly known as hyperglycemic nonketotic coma and many other names.

HHNS is a condition seen in type 2 diabetics with uncontrolled disease that lose access to free water due to debility, restraints, or acute illness.  Things rapidly spiral out of control as they lose fluids from osmotic diuresis and develope more and more concentrated serum.

This AFP article is a good review of the condition and its treatment.  Primary focus should be on volume resuscitation as it is not a pure insulin deficiency state.  Administering insulin before fluid resuscitation could precipitate hypotension.

Also, keep in mind that this syndrome can precipitate central pontine myelinolysis, even in the absence of hyponatremia, as this article and several other reports have demonstrated.


As for DKA this is a condition that some patients have so often it often breeds complacency in physicians caring for them.  It is a life threatening emergency and bad management decisions can make things worse.  Overcorrection of glucose, inadequate volume resuscitation, or mismanagement of electrolyte problems are all potential pitfalls.  It is easy to get lost in the data and a flowchart is essential to ensure good management.  This article from a pediatric diabetes journal summarizes concensus guidelines and includes tons of useful calculations and fomulas for various fluid and insulin regimens.  Most of this generalizes to care of adult DKA patients.

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