Studies in Hypoglycemia of Infancy and Childhood

Abstract

ALTHOUGH elaborate classifications have been proposed, most children who develop hypoglycemia after the newborn period still fall into the group vaguely termed "idiopathic hypoglycemia of infancy and childhood." This study was undertaken to determine whether the clinical features and the responses to standard tests of blood sugar regulation are sufficiently distinctive to discriminate "idiopathic" cases from those of known etiology or provide any clues to possible etiologic mechanisms within the idiopathic group. This was done by analyzing the findings in a group of infants and children with idiopathic hypoglycemia and contrasting them with those in selected cases of hypoglycemia caused by hypopituitarism or insulinoma. A further objective of this study was to resolve some of the conflicting recommendations for the management of these patients. This report is based on the records of selected children admitted with the diagnosis of hypoglycemia to the North Carolina Memorial Hospital and Vanderbilt University Hospital.