[The hypoglycemic reactions in diabetic patients in the emergency room. Which patients are going to be hospitalized?].

In one year, a retrospective study in a casualty department identified 67 hypoglycemic episodes occurring to adult diabetic patients: 40 insulin-treated, 20 oral antidiabetic-treated, 7 with unrecorded treatment. All the oral antidiabetic-treated patients were on glibenclamide and the mean dose was 6.5 mg/day: 35.7% of the patients admitted to the medical ward were discharged without antidiabetic drug prescription, suggesting that previous treatment had been unnecessary. Thirty one of the subjects had to be admitted to the medical ward: they were significantly older, mainly on oral antidiabetic treatment and their glucose blood levels were significantly lower than those of the patients treated in the casualty department and sent home. The subjects were admitted mainly because of associated disease, late complications of the diabetic status or home care shortage.