Salma Tanveer, Muhammad Inayat Ullah, Zahra Nazish, Shabbir Ahmed Nasir, Mohammad Arshad, Altaf Baqir Naqvi, Ali Syed.
Hypoglycemia in liver Cirrhosis.
Professional Med J Jan ;11(2):186-9.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of hypoglycemia in patients with advanced cirrhosis and its possible precipitating factors. Design: It was a simple descriptive study. Setting: Ist Medical Unit Nishtar Hospital Multan. Period: July 1997 to July 1998. Material and Methods: Fifty patients with advanced cirrhosis (child B and C) were studied. Diabetic patients, those who had fasting plasma glucose above normal and those on I/V dextrose infusion were excluded from study. Results: 34 (68%) patients had child C disease and 16 (32%) patients had child B disease. On the basis of plasma glucose level, patients were divided into 3 groups. Group I (fasting plasma glucose <50 mg%) included 3 (6%) patients. All had symptoms of hypoglycemia and evidence of sepsis (spontaneous bacterial peritonitis 2, Urinary tract infection 1). 18 (36%) patients in the second group (blood glucose 50-60 mg%) and 79 (58%) patients in the third group (blood glucose >60 mg%) had no compounding factors. Their ages were between 35 and 63 years. Conclusions: Fasting hypoglycemia was seen only in decompensated cirrhosis. It was more likely to occur in the presence of complicating factors response to hypoglycemia was intact.

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