2020 Volume 63 Issue 2 Pages 63-67
A 59-year-old man was admitted emergently due to loss of consciousness. The patient had previously been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic diabetes mellitus and was being treated with multiple daily injections of insulin. Upon arrival, the patient's serum glucose level was 29 mg/dL. Although the patient's serum glucose level increased following intravenous injection of glucose solution, his consciousness level remained low, and he ultimately died due to aspiration pneumonia on day 39. Hypoglycemic encephalopathy is an emergent illness that leads to neurological sequelae, such as irreversible disruption of consciousness, disturbance of the higher brain function, and paralysis. It is important to recognize that hypoglycemia may occasionally be fatal if prompt treatment is delayed.
