Diabetes Treatment Review

Glucagon for the treatment and prevention of severe hypoglycemia in people with diabetes

Daniella Otway of the Diabetic Hypoglycemia Editorial Team

Diabetic Hypoglycemia January 2014, Volume 6, Issue 3: page 18-22

Severe hypoglycemia both at home and in a hospital setting is a risk for people with diabetes. Glucagon is recommended for rescue treatment of severe hypoglycemia, and emergency glucagon kits should be prescribed to people with diabetes who are at risk of severe hypoglycemia. It is also recommended that emergency glucagon kits form part of the ‘hypobox’ – a portable kit provided to hospital wards and departments in the UK, which contains the necessary therapies for the emergency treatment of hypoglycemia. More recently, the use of glucagon in bihormonal closed-loop systems has been investigated for the prevention of hypoglycemia; models have been developed that will ultimately guide the optimization of this technology.

Keywords: bihormonal closed-loop system, glucagon, glycemic control, hypoglycemia, insulin, models