Etiologies of acute hypoglycemia in a Taiwanese hospital emergency department.

The etiologies of acute hypoglycemia (< 2.8 mmol/L) in adult emergency patients were assessed to provide more proper and prompt management. There were 228 hypoglycemic patients (112 women and 116 men, ranging in age from 22 to 93 years, mean = 69.6 years) identified for the study. These patients had hypoglycemia mainly due to excessive use of sulfonylureas or insulin. There was a diabetic history in 182 patients (79.83%). Other primary etiologies of acute hypoglycemia were sepsis in 13 (5.70%), and extensive liver disease in 13 (5.70%). This study indicates that good diabetic control can dramatically decrease the number of episodes of acute hypoglycemia in Taiwan. For acute hypoglycemic patients without a diabetic history, the possibility of sepsis or extensive liver disease is a problem in Taiwan.