lowest blood sugar reading?

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FirefighterMatt

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Im a firefighter emr and we respond to EMS calls, but do not transport (we wait for the ambulance, which is usually 15-20 mins behind us in the county), anyway I responded to a call tonight for a diabetic whose blood sugar was 2 (Two).

I am kind of a newbie with <2 years on, so I was curious about other stories involving critical blood sugar levels?

What's the lowest that you've seen? How much longer can a person hang in there when they are @ 2??
 
C

cmetalbend

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lampnyter said:
Lowest ive seen was about 30 but i had a pt who was at 529
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my own personal records(mine) 51 as measured by the EMT's 20 min after my wife put frosting in my lip. And 600+, thats where the meter would register too. Then it just reads High. I was blind at that point and had lost 82lbs in about 2 months according to records.
 
socalmedic

socalmedic

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I am going to have to call equipment failure on the 2. maby the meter was reading MMOL/L not mg/DL, which would make it about 36. i know that my meter reads 20-640 mg/dl. if it is outside those ranges it will say HI or LO, which is why I have to say it was not in the wrong setting.
 
ffemt8978

ffemt8978

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23 and 507 are the lowest and highest I've seen.
 
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JJR512

JJR512

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Never noticed any particularly low low, but as for highs, I saw a "HIGH" on a machine that went up to 800, and later learned from the PICU staff it was over 1200.

That patient was 15 years old, and did not survive.
 
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nakenyon

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Lowest I've ever seen is LO on meter that read down to 20. Highest BGL I've had in a patient (didn't know it at the time because I was BLS) was 886. Patient was diagnosed as a diabetic shortly thereafter.
 
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johnmedic

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Usually <20 is "LO", never seen a glucometer that gives readings less than 15. I've seen lots of LO's, some conscious, some not.
2mg/dl is not conducive to life. Respirations & heart will stop before glucose-starved brain tissue actually permanently dies, but it'll all start happening before 2mg/dl.
 
ZombieEMT

ZombieEMT

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I was dispatched to an unconscious woman about three weeks ago that had a bgl of 7, which both medics stated was the lowest they have seen on someone that was still alive. She was given drugs by the medics and shortly after her bgl was over 250.
 
8jimi8

8jimi8

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Took care of a patient in the hospital, who had been revived by EMS from full arrest.

Blood glucose on the chart was ZERO. This was also the first extravasated IO i had ever seen. Looked like a blackened crack in a windshield radiating from the the EZ-IO dimple /c a tiny scab in the middle.


This patient was a comfort care only, with a death rattle. She hung on until I convinced her husband to go home and take a shower.

Only responded to a trap squeeze. I didn't think she would respond to it, but she opened her eyes and gasped. I did everything that I could do for her and then i started working on her husband. He was haggard and ragged. Her kids had said goodbye, and he was literally waiting in the chair for her to die.

I took his cell number, told him i'd call if anything changed and he walked away with relief of not having to listen to that rattle.

10 minutes after he left, I went in the room and told her that he was gone and that she could go too if she wanted. Then she left.


But yah, POC CBG Zero. Highest i've ever seen 1800 on the chart. I've never taken one that ended up that high. (hhnk)

Also ran an insulin drip at 50 units per hour (max dose) giving q30 minute 50 unit iv boluses. This was a dead judge who had had two previous flat line EEGs... but somehow the neurologist told the family that there was hope that he might not be dead.... so i spent 12 hours chasing this guys BG with 150 units of IV insulin/hr and never got a value below 395... this was all so that we could obtain a 3rd flatline EEG. To this day i can't believe that idiot told the family there was hope. To think of all the wasted resources just because that guy was a judge.
 
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djm0219

djm0219

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Lowest I've seen/taken was 12 and the guy was still semi-concious and making an effort to talk. A dose of D50 and about 15 minutes later he was a-ok.
 
abckidsmom

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8jimi8 said:
Took care of a patient in the hospital, who had been revived by EMS from full arrest.

Blood glucose on the chart was ZERO. This was also the first extravasated IO i had ever seen. Looked like a blackened crack in a windshield radiating from the the EZ-IO dimple /c a tiny scab in the middle.


This patient was a comfort care only, with a death rattle. She hung on until I convinced her husband to go home and take a shower.

Only responded to a trap squeeze. I didn't think she would respond to it, but she opened her eyes and gasped. I did everything that I could do for her and then i started working on her husband. He was haggard and ragged. Her kids had said goodbye, and he was literally waiting in the chair for her to die.

I took his cell number, told him i'd call if anything changed and he walked away with relief of not having to listen to that rattle.

10 minutes after he left, I went in the room and told her that he was gone and that she could go too if she wanted. Then she left.


But yah, POC CBG Zero. Highest i've ever seen 1800 on the chart. I've never taken one that ended up that high. (hhnk)

Also ran an insulin drip at 50 units per hour (max dose) giving q30 minute 50 unit iv boluses. This was a dead judge who had had two previous flat line EEGs... but somehow the neurologist told the family that there was hope that he might not be dead.... so i spent 12 hours chasing this guys BG with 150 units of IV insulin/hr and never got a value below 395... this was all so that we could obtain a 3rd flatline EEG. To this day i can't believe that idiot told the family there was hope. To think of all the wasted resources just because that guy was a judge.
Click to expand...

I miss critical care sometimes.
 
abckidsmom

abckidsmom

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8jimi8 said:
Took care of a patient in the hospital, who had been revived by EMS from full arrest.

Blood glucose on the chart was ZERO. This was also the first extravasated IO i had ever seen. Looked like a blackened crack in a windshield radiating from the the EZ-IO dimple /c a tiny scab in the middle.


This patient was a comfort care only, with a death rattle. She hung on until I convinced her husband to go home and take a shower.

Only responded to a trap squeeze. I didn't think she would respond to it, but she opened her eyes and gasped. I did everything that I could do for her and then i started working on her husband. He was haggard and ragged. Her kids had said goodbye, and he was literally waiting in the chair for her to die.

I took his cell number, told him i'd call if anything changed and he walked away with relief of not having to listen to that rattle.

10 minutes after he left, I went in the room and told her that he was gone and that she could go too if she wanted. Then she left.


But yah, POC CBG Zero. Highest i've ever seen 1800 on the chart. I've never taken one that ended up that high. (hhnk)

Also ran an insulin drip at 50 units per hour (max dose) giving q30 minute 50 unit iv boluses. This was a dead judge who had had two previous flat line EEGs... but somehow the neurologist told the family that there was hope that he might not be dead.... so i spent 12 hours chasing this guys BG with 150 units of IV insulin/hr and never got a value below 395... this was all so that we could obtain a 3rd flatline EEG. To this day i can't believe that idiot told the family there was hope. To think of all the wasted resources just because that guy was a judge.
Click to expand...

I miss critical care sometimes. I had an something like an insulinoma on/in the placenta during my first pregnancy. The lowest I saw on the meter was 8 mg/dL, but I was awake, so I don't buy that. It regularly was under 20 when I had a low.

And then around the 20th week, it stopped. No more low blood sugars at all, insulin levels normal.
 
V

Veneficus

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8jimi8 said:
Took care of a patient in the hospital, who had been revived by EMS from full arrest.

Blood glucose on the chart was ZERO. This was also the first extravasated IO i had ever seen. Looked like a blackened crack in a windshield radiating from the the EZ-IO dimple /c a tiny scab in the middle.


This patient was a comfort care only, with a death rattle. She hung on until I convinced her husband to go home and take a shower.

Only responded to a trap squeeze. I didn't think she would respond to it, but she opened her eyes and gasped. I did everything that I could do for her and then i started working on her husband. He was haggard and ragged. Her kids had said goodbye, and he was literally waiting in the chair for her to die.

I took his cell number, told him i'd call if anything changed and he walked away with relief of not having to listen to that rattle.

10 minutes after he left, I went in the room and told her that he was gone and that she could go too if she wanted. Then she left.


But yah, POC CBG Zero. Highest i've ever seen 1800 on the chart. I've never taken one that ended up that high. (hhnk)

Also ran an insulin drip at 50 units per hour (max dose) giving q30 minute 50 unit iv boluses. This was a dead judge who had had two previous flat line EEGs... but somehow the neurologist told the family that there was hope that he might not be dead.... so i spent 12 hours chasing this guys BG with 150 units of IV insulin/hr and never got a value below 395... this was all so that we could obtain a 3rd flatline EEG. To this day i can't believe that idiot told the family there was hope. To think of all the wasted resources just because that guy was a judge.
Click to expand...

If I ever wind up with 2 flat EEGs and somebody tells my family there is hope, please accidentally kick the cords out of the sockets on your way out to chart.
 
usafmedic45

usafmedic45

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We had a guy in the ER a few nights back who had a BGL so high the lab tech had to do a serial dilution to get an accurate reading. 1700. Guy survived. Actually was semi-conscious and talking.
 
TransportJockey

TransportJockey

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Lowest i've seen was 'LOW'. Highest was when I was working in the hospital. 2150 or so if I'm remembering correctly. Guy didn't last.
 
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