Background: Hypoglycemia usually includes various neurological symptoms, which are the consequence of neuroglycopenia. When it is severe, it is associated with altered mental status, even coma. Case presentation: We report the case of a patient with severe hypoglycemia, completely asymptomatic, due to the increase of lactate production in response to tissue hypoperfusion following a hemorrhagic shock. This illustrates that lactate can substitute glucose as an energy substrate for the brain. It is also a reminder that this metabolite, despite its bad reputation maintained by its role as a marker of severity in critical care patients, has a fundamental role in our metabolism. Conclusions: Following the example of the “happy hypoxemia” recently reported in the literature describing asymptomatic hypoxemia in COVID-19 patients, we describe a case of “happy hypoglycemia.”
CITATION STYLE
Loeb, T., Ozguler, A., Baer, G., & Baer, M. (2021). The pathophysiology of “happy” hypoglycemia. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-021-00348-7
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