Abstract
Introduction
Treatment of hyperkalemia using intravenous insulin can result in severe hypoglycemia,
but regular blood glucose monitoring is not standardized. This study aimed to (i)
explore the demographics of adult patients receiving hyperkalemia treatment and (ii)
identify the incidence rate of hypoglycemia and associated demographic or clinical
characteristics.
Methods
A descriptive design with prospective data collection was used. This study recruited
135 patients who received hyperkalemia treatment in the emergency department. Structured
blood glucose monitoring was conducted at 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours after receiving intravenous
insulin. Univariate analyses of association between demographic and clinical variables
and hypoglycemia outcome were performed.
Results
There were 31 hypoglycemic events, with 11.9%, 7.4%, 2.2%, and 1.5% occurring at the
1, 2, 4, and 6 hours after treatment. The logit regression showed no significantly
increased risk of hypoglycemia in terms of the demographic and clinical variables.
Discussion
The variation in blood glucose response observed in this study combined with the high
incidences of hypolycaemia indicated the need for frequent and longer duration of
monitoring for patients who were being treated for hyperkalaemia with IDT.
Key words
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Biography
Siew Hoon Lim is an Assistant Nurse Clinician, Division of Nursing, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore. ORCID identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9559-0909.
Biography
Siti Namira Binte Abdul Wahab is a Senior Staff Nurse, Division of Nursing, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Biography
Shin Yuh Ang is a Deputy Director, Division of Nursing, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore. ORCID identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9614-7012.
Biography
Ming Ming Teh is a Senior Consultant Endocrinologist, Department of Endocrinology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Biography
Fazila Aloweni is a Senior Nurse Manager, Division of Nursing, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore. ORCID identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8435-5068.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 18, 2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
