Hypoglycemia during Diarrhea in Childhood

Abstract

To determine the frequency and outcome of hypoglycemia during diarrhea in childhood, we screened 2003 consecutive patients less than 15 years of age who were admitted to a diarrhea treatment center in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hypoglycemia, defined as a blood glucose concentration <2.2 mmol per liter, was found in 91 patients (4.5 percent), 39 (42.9 percent) of whom died. We also measured the plasma concentrations of glucoregulatory hormones and gluconeogenetic substrates in 46 of the patients with hypoglycemia who were 2 to 15 years old and in 25 normoglycemic patients matched with them for age and weight.