Editorial

Hypoglycemia in hospital inpatients with diabetes

Brian M Frier

Diabetic Hypoglycemia October 2012, Volume 5, Issue 2: page 1-2

Some people with diabetes are admitted to hospital following an episode of severe hypoglycemia (SH) (usually because of neurological sequelae), but they tend to represent the tip of the hypoglycemia iceberg; most episodes of SH are treated either in the community or in the hospital emergency department, from whence patients are discharged. A much greater problem in relation to hospital care is the frequent occurrence of hypoglycemia of varying severity among inpatients, much of which is iatrogenic. The feature article in the present issue by Farrokhi and colleagues highlights this problem, and particularly addresses the as yet unresolved question of which patients are most likely to benefit from strict glycemic control in an intensive care unit (ICU).