Common causes and treatment of hypoglycemia in older patients with diabetes at Thanh Nhan hospital

Abstract

Objectives: To determine common causes and treatment of hypoglycemia in oler patients with diabetes at Thanh Nhan hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study on 1215 diabetic patients treated at Thanh Nhan Hospital from November 2018 to May 2019. Subjects were interviewed according to a uniform medical record. Hypoglycemia was diagnosed according to the ADA 2018 criteria: blood glucose ≤ 3.9 mmol/l. Results: the most common cause of hypoglycemia was a reduced diet (49.6%); eating late (24.1%); skipping meals (9.3%); overdose, wrong insulin regimen due to patients (7.4%); overdose and wrong insulin regimen by doctor (4.2%). The proportion of patients receiving intravenous hypertonic glucose injection/infusion was 7.7%; eating foods containing glucose was 63.1%; eating foods containing carbonhydrat was 29.2%. The majority of patients with symptoms of hypoglycemia lasting within 15 minutes accounted for 56.3%, the number of patients with hypoglycemia lasting more than 60 minutes accounted for 0.9%. Conclusions: The common cause of hypoglycemia in the study subjects was mainly related to the patient's diet. The treatment of the patient's hypoglycemia was not completely correct. Therefore, medical staff should have measures to advise and educate about the causes as well as how to manage hypoglycemia for this subject regularly