Hypoglycemia complicating dehydration in children with acute gastroenteritis

• Published in: The Journal of emergency medicine Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 141 - 145
• Main Authors: Reid, Samuel R., Losek, Joseph D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-08-2005
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Age Distribution; Blood Glucose - analysis; Causality; Child, Preschool; Comorbidity; dehydration; Dehydration - blood; Dehydration - epidemiology; Diarrhea - epidemiology; Female; Fluid Therapy - statistics & numerical data; gastroenteritis; Gastroenteritis - blood; Gastroenteritis - epidemiology; Glucose - therapeutic use; Hospitals, Pediatric - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals, Urban - statistics & numerical data; Humans; hypoglycemia; Hypoglycemia - blood; Hypoglycemia - drug therapy; Hypoglycemia - epidemiology; Infant; Male; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Minnesota - epidemiology; pediatrics; Retrospective Studies; Vomiting - epidemiology; Minnesota; dehydration; gastroenteritis; hypoglycemia; pediatrics
• ISSN: 0736-4679; 2352-5029
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2005.02.004

A study was done to estimate the prevalence of hypoglycemia among children with dehydration due to acute gastroenteritis, and to identify clinical variables associated with hypoglycemia in these children. A retrospective case series of children older than 1 month of age and younger than 5 years of age who presented to an urban children’s hospital Emergency Department with acute gastroenteritis and dehydration was performed. Medical records were reviewed; demographic and clinical data, including pretreatment serum glucose concentrations, were recorded. There were 196 children comprising the study population. Eighteen children (9.2%) were hypoglycemic. The duration of vomiting was longer for the children with hypoglycemia (2.6 days, SD ± 1.5) than for those without hypoglycemia (1.6, SD ± 1.8), 95% CI 0.13 to 1.88. Hypoglycemia may complicate dehydration due to acute gastroenteritis in young children. Clinicians should examine the serum glucose concentration in these children.