🍬 Hypoglycemia Management
This tool guides hypoglycemia treatment by consciousness/swallowing status and IV access, applying the 15-15 rule for awake patients and glucagon or IV glucose for severe cases.
Hypoglycemia Management
Consciousness/swallowing status
IV access (when unable to swallow)
When to use
Use at the bedside to choose route and agent: oral fast-acting carbohydrate when awake and swallowing, IV dextrose when access exists, and glucagon when it does not.
How it works
Awake/swallowing → 15 g fast carbohydrate, recheck at 15 min, repeat until > 70 mg/dL, then a protein-containing meal. Impaired → no oral intake; IV access → 25 mL D50; no access → glucagon 1 mg IM/SC (or 3 mg nasal).
Key points
- Patients with impaired consciousness must not be fed food or liquids because of aspiration risk — use IV dextrose or glucagon instead. (original synthesis · not guideline verbatim)
- After recovery, a small meal with protein and complex carbohydrate prevents rebound hypoglycemia, and precipitants should be corrected.
- Hypoglycemia tends to recur, so monitoring is intensified and the glucose-lowering regimen reviewed.
References
Decision support for licensed clinicians only; not a substitute for clinical judgement, diagnosis or local protocols.