Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state

(Redirected from Hyperosmotic Coma)

Background

  • Prototypical patient is elderly with uncontrolled type II DM without adequate access to H2O
  • Occurs due to 3 factors:
    • Insulin resistance or deficiency
    • Increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis
    • Osmotic diuresis and dehydration followed by impaired renal excretion of glucose
      • May result in TBW losses of 8-12L
  • Ketosis usually absent (may be mild)
  • Cerebral edema is uncommon complication (case reports)
  • Estimated mortality 10-20%, usually due to underlying precipitant[1]
    • In contrast to DKA, in which mortality is 1-5%
    • Incidence of HHS < 1% of hospital admissions of patients with diabetes

Precipitants

Clinical Features

Differential Diagnosis

Hyperglycemia

Diabetic Emergencies

Diabetes Mellitus (New or Known)

Medication/Drug-Induced

Physiologic Stress Response

  • Sepsis / critical illness (stress hyperglycemia — very common in the ED)
  • Trauma / major surgery / burns
  • Acute coronary syndrome / myocardial infarction
  • Stroke (especially hemorrhagic)
  • Pancreatitis (both a cause and consequence)
  • Shock (any etiology)
  • Pain (catecholamine surge)
  • Seizure (postictal)
  • Physiologic stress alone rarely causes glucose >200 mg/dL in non-diabetics; glucose >200 in a "stress response" should prompt evaluation for undiagnosed diabetes or prediabetes

Endocrine

Pancreatic

  • Pancreatitis (acute or chronic — destruction of islet cells)
  • Pancreatic malignancy (adenocarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumors)
  • Post-pancreatectomy
  • Cystic fibrosis-related diabetes
  • Hemochromatosis (iron deposition in pancreas — "bronze diabetes")

Toxic/Overdose

Other

  • Renal failure (chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury — impaired insulin clearance AND insulin resistance)
  • Cirrhosis / hepatic failure (impaired glycogenolysis regulation)
  • Pregnancy (gestational diabetes, steroid administration for fetal lung maturity)
  • Parenteral nutrition (TPN, dextrose-containing fluids)
  • Post-transplant diabetes (immunosuppressants)

Complications of Diabetes (Not Causes of Hyperglycemia)

These are associated conditions that may be present alongside hyperglycemia but do not themselves cause elevated glucose:

Evaluation

Work Up

Diagnosis

  • Glucose >600
  • Osm >320
  • Bicarb >15
  • pH >7.3
  • Serum ketones negative or mildly positive
  • Neurologic abnormalities frequently present (coma in 25-50% of cases)

Management

  1. Fluid replacement
    • Average fluid deficit is 8-12L
      • 50% should be replaced over the initial 12hr
      • May have to replace slower if patient has cardiac/renal impairment
      • Aggressiveness of fluid replacement must be weighed against the risk of cerebral edema, which increases with younger age[2]
  2. Hypokalemia
    • Must treat aggressively
    • Once adequate urinary output has been established K+ replacement should begin
  3. Hyperglycemia
    • Do not start insulin until K > 3.3 and adequate urinary output has been established
  4. Hypomagnesemia
  5. Hypophosphatemia
    • Routine correction unnecessary unless phos <1.0

HHS.jpg

Disposition

  • Most patients require ICU admission

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Pasquel FJ, Umpierrez GE. Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state: a historic review of the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment. Diabetes Care. 2014; 37(11):3124-31.
  2. ↑ Stoner GD. Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State. Am Fam Physician. 2005 May 1;71(9):1723-1730. http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0501/p1723.html
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