Vital signs
Blood Glucose
For education. Check every result.
Anatium is a study resource, not medical advice. Nothing here is a diagnosis, a prescription or a substitute for a clinician who has seen the patient. Check every number against a current local protocol before it touches anyone, and never act on a result you cannot reproduce yourself.
Reference range
| Range | 4 to 7.8 mmol/L |
About
Capillary or venous glucose. Check it in anyone confused, drowsy or fitting: hypoglycaemia is common, instantly treatable and missed if nobody looks.
When it is low
hypoglycaemia below 4.0: treat immediately - it kills faster than hyperglycaemia. Sulfonylureas and insulin are the usual causes, and beta blockers mask the adrenergic warning symptoms
When it is high
Hyperglycaemia: infection, steroids, missed insulin, new diabetes. With ketones and acidosis this is DKA - and remember thiamine goes in before glucose in the malnourished
How it is measured
Check in any altered consciousness, seizure, or unwell diabetic patient. "Never let a patient with reduced consciousness go without a glucose."
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