To determine the utility (i.e., positive predictive value [PPV] and time requirement) of an adverse drug event (ADE) trigger tool in Veterans Affairs (VA) nursing facilities and to describe the most common types of potential ADEs detected with the trigger tool.Retrospective chart review.Veterans residing in three VA nursing facilities between September 29, 2010, and October 29, 2010.We used the Institute for Healthcare Improvement-endorsed nursing facility ADE trigger tool, modified to enhance its clinical relevance to detect potential ADEs. Electronic medical records were screened to identify residents with one or more abnormal laboratory values specified in the trigger tool.A potential ADE was defined as the concurrent administration of medication that could cause the abnormal laboratory value. An overall PPV, or proportion of residents with an abnormal laboratory value who had a potential ADE, and average time required to complete each trigger tool assessment, were calculated.Among 321 veterans, 50.5% (n = 162) had at least one abnormal laboratory value contained in the trigger tool. Ninety-nine potential ADEs involving 146 medications were detected in 65 veterans. The overall PPV of the ADE trigger tool was 40.1% (65/162), and the average time to complete resident assessments was 8.8 (standard deviation ± 5.7) minutes. The most common potential ADEs were acute kidney injury (n = 30 residents), hypokalemia (n = 18), hypoglycemia (n = 13), and hyperkalemia (n = 10).The modified nursing facility trigger tool was shown to be an effective and efficient method for detecting potential ADEs.

Patients with diabetes are routinely asked to fast for laboratory tests. If not properly prepared, they may be at risk for hypoglycemia, which may result in traffic accidents while driving en route to and from laboratory facilities. We undertook this study to evaluate the magnitude of this overlooked problem, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a prevention program implemented in our clinic.A retrospective study consisting of chart reviews and telephone interviews of consecutive hypoglycemic events (blood glucose level < 70 mg/dL). The study cohorts, A and B, were extracted from our central laboratory database. Cohort A (from January 2008-September 2009) consisted of patients prior to--and cohort B (from October 2009-June 2011) subsequent to--the implementation of a prevention program involving blood glucose monitoring and adjustment of antidiabetic medications. Duration of each cohort was 21 months. For the purpose of this article, we use the acronym FEEHD (fasting-evoked en-route hypoglycemia in diabetes) to describe this overlooked form of hypoglycemia.Of a total of 1801 blood glucose test results retrieved, cohort A included a total of 55 hypoglycemic events in 51 patients (4 patients with 2 events each). Cohort B included a total of 23 hypoglycemic events in 22 patients (with 1 patient sustaining 2 events) out of a total of 2561 blood glucose test results retrieved. In cohort A, of 35 patients on antidiabetic medications who recalled fasting or probably fasting, there were 39 hypoglycemic events (2.2% frequency), compared with 18 events (0.7% frequency) in 17 patients in cohort B. This indicates a 68% risk reduction. The frequency of critical hypoglycemia (< 50 mg/dL) was more significantly reduced, from 11 events (0.6%) to 2 events (0.07%), indicating a risk reduction of 88%.This study showed a 68% risk reduction of FEEHD with implementation of the prevention program, and an 88% reduction of severe FEEHD (blood glucose level < 50 mg/dL). Reporting on the first prevention program of its kind, this is the first study to evaluate an overlooked safety problem in diabetes management. Clinicians should consider if fasting laboratory tests are in fact necessary, and when ordered, clinicians should properly instruct their patients on adequate blood glucose monitoring and adjustment of antidiabetic medications. We present the guidelines that proved effective in our program to help patients with diabetes and their clinicians avert this potentially harmful complication.

Supportive care of patients with functional neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) has evolved to include the use of multiple targeted agents to control paraneoplastic states and newer surgical and interventional radiologic techniques to reduce tumor bulk. Challenges encountered by the clinician are the recognition of specific symptom complexes, selecting the relevant laboratory tests and radiologic/scintigraphic scans, and the timing of intervention(s). Individual variables such as the severity of symptoms in the context of primary and metastatic disease sites, tumor bulk, comorbidities, and previous treatment are factors determining the prioritization of specific treatment regimens for patients with functional NETs. Symptoms such as flushing, secretory diarrhea, hypercalcemia, hyper /hypoglycemia, hypercortisolism, and peptic ulcers should improve with decreasing the elevated amino acid and/or peptide levels produced by NETs. These paraneoplastic symptoms may be accompanied by complaints related to tumor burden such as fatigue, pain, early satiety, anorexia, weight loss, night sweats, and/or symptoms secondary to adverse drug effects such as mucositis, dysgeusia, diarrhea, rash, hypertension, and myelosuppression. Developing a comprehensive continuum of care plan early in disease management assists in controlling the presenting signs and symptoms, and in minimizing disease- and/or treatment-related side effects. This guide serves as a framework to manage the signs and symptoms of metastatic functional neuroendocrine tumors.

Maternal obesity (defined as prepregnancy maternal BMI> or = 30 kg/m2) is a risk factor strongly associated with serious perinatal complications and its prevalence has increased rapidly in a general population during the last decades. Therefore, following international approach to regulate perinatal care in this population, Group of Experts of Polish Gynecological Society developed these new guidelines concerning perinatal care in obese pregnant women, including women after bariatric surgery. The recommendations cover detailed information on specific needs and risks associated with obesity in women of reproductive age, pregnancy planning, antenatal care, screening, prophylaxis and treatment for other pregnancy complications characteristic for maternal obesity fetal surveillance, intrapartum care and post-partum follow-up. Pregnancy planning in these patients should involve dietary recommendations aiming at well balanced diet and daily caloric uptake below 2000 kcal and modest but regular physical activity with sessions every two days starting from 15 min and increased gradually to 40 min. Laboratory work-up should include tests recommended in general population plus fasting glycemia and oral glucose tolerance if necessary thyroid function, lipidprofile, blood pressure and ECG. Patients after bariatric surgery should allow at least one year before they conceive and have their diet fortified with iron, folic acid, calcium and vit. B12. Antenatal care should include monitoring body weight gain with a target increase in body weight less than 7 kg, thromboprophylaxis, strict monitoring of blood pressure and diagnostic for gestational diabetes in early pregnancy. Fetal ultrasonic scans should be arranged following protocols recommended by US section of Polish Gynaecological Society with additional scan assessing fetal growth performed within 7 days before delivery and aiming at assessing a risk for shoulder dystocia in a patient. Intrapartum care should be delivered in referral centers where fetal and maternal intrapartum complications can be addressed, preferably equipped with a proper medical equipment necessary to deal safely with extremely heavy individuals. Medical staff taking intrapartum care for obese parturient should be also aware of reduced reliability of methods used for intrapartum fetal surveillance, increased risk for intrapartum fetal death, maternal injuries, postpartum haemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, thrombophlebitis and infection. Pediatrician should be also available due to increased neonatal morbidity mainly due to meconium aspiration syndrome, hypoglycemia, and respiratory distress syndrome. In puerperium, medical staff should be prepared to deal with breastfeeding disturbances and increased maternal mortality.

Salt-losing crisis with hypoglycaemia and shock are the main manifestations of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) during the first weeks of life, while hyponatremia and hyperpotassemia alone are seen on mineralocorticoid deficiency or resistance. During the neonatal period, high blood levels of adrenal steroids may lead to confusing laboratory tests not being able to identify the real level of each hormone. A 33-day-old male baby was admitted at the emergency department with severe salt-losing crisis (Na(+) 99 mEq/l and K(+) 9.4 mEq/l) and mild acidosis. No hypoglycaemia or hypotension was seen. Urinary tract infection was excluded. Despite treatment with hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone, hyperpotassemia was hard to control. Laboratory tests could not differentiate between pseudohypoaldosteronism and CAH as both the aldosterone (2454 pg/ml) and 17-OH-progesterone (656.6 ng/ml) levels were high. Diagnosis was made, thanks to the genetic study that proved classical mutations in both alleles of the 21-hydroxylase gene.

This case report reviews the presentation, evaluation, and treatment of persistent hypoglycemia in a patient without a history of diabetes. The use of laboratory tests to differentiate between drug-induced and disease-induced hypoglycemia is reviewed.A 51-year-old female with multiple medical conditions including bipolar disorder and no history of diabetes was admitted for evaluation and treatment of hypoglycemia. Pharmacotherapy included intravenous dextrose infusions and bolus doses. A battery of tests was ordered to evaluate intrinsic and extrinsic causes. Endocrine Society guidelines for hypoglycemia exist and have recommendations for testing and strategies to rule out drug-related causes. Her insulin level was 57 IU/mL (normal range < 17). Her proinsulin level was 356.8 pmol/L (normal range <8.8).The guidelines recommend a battery of laboratory tests; however, the results are not rapidly available necessitating a structured follow-up process. In our patient, exposure to hypoglycemic agents and exogenous insulin can be ruled out. Autoimmune hypoglycemia or a hypoglycemic reaction to one of her home medications is very unlikely, but cannot be ruled out. An insulinoma is the most likely etiology of her hypoglycemia, but that cannot be confirmed.

Diabetes mellitus has become a major public health problem in China. This open-label, prospective, multicentre, post-marketing surveillance study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of nateglinide in combination with metformin in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).A total of 892 patients with T2DM were included in the study, of whom 361 subjects had been pretreated with metformin and 531 subjects had not previously been treated with any oral antihyperglycaemic agent. All enrolled patients received 120 mg of nateglinide three times daily within 15 minutes before meals together with metformin (with no restrictions on dosage or frequency of administration) for 12 weeks. Physical examination, laboratory tests and relevant tests in terms of efficacy were performed, and adverse events and subject compliance were documented and monitored.From baseline to week 12, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was reduced by 1.52 % ± 1.25 % (mean ± SD), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) by 1.92 ± 1.78 mmol/L, and 2-h post-prandial plasma glucose (2-h PPG) by 4.55 ± 2.93 mmol/L (all p < 0.01); 61.66 % of subjects achieved the HbA1c goals of <7 %. A total adverse events incidence of 2.47 % was observed, including an incidence of 1.68 % treatment-emergent adverse events. The incidence of hypoglycaemia was 1.57 %. Other nateglinide-related adverse events (including gastrointestinal disorders, rash and allergic dermatitis) were also reported. There were no serious adverse effects.The combination of nateglinide and metformin is a safe and effective means of achieving glycaemic target in Chinese patients with T2DM.

Most studies report using percentage of total daily insulin (TDI) for converting therapy from continuous insulin infusion to subcutaneous insulin in cardiac surgery patients. Few studies have evaluated the efficacy of using body weight to calculate the basal insulin dose.To compare the efficacy and safety of dosing insulin glargine by weight versus percentage of TDI in cardiac surgery patients transitioning from continuous insulin infusion to subcutaneous insulin.We conducted a prospective, randomized, open-label, pilot study. Study patients who had a preoperative weight less than 100 kg and were receiving at least 6 hours of a continuous insulin infusion were randomized to receive either 50% of their TDI requirement or 0.5 units/kg of glargine as a one-time dose 2 hours before stopping the continuous insulin infusion. All patients were administered subcutaneous corrective insulin. Blood glucose monitoring occurred before each meal, at bedtime, and with morning laboratory tests for 24 hours after administration of the glargine dose.A total of 200 blood glucose measurements were performed in each group. The percentage of blood glucose measurements in target range (80-140 mg/dL) was similar between the weight-based group and the percentage-based group (66% vs 64%, p = 0.75). Median blood glucose after transition was 120 mg/dL (interquartile range [IQR] 99-147) in the weight-based group compared to 127 mg/dL (IQR 107-149; p = 0.03) in the percentage-based group. The median glargine dose was higher in the weight-based group (41 units; IQR 36-44) than in the weight-based group (24 units; IQR 14-30, p < 0.001). The rate of hypoglycemia (blood glucose <60 mg/dL) was 2.5% in each group.In this small cohort, dosing insulin glargine by weight proved to be safe, but larger scale studies are needed before adopting weight-based dosing in this patient population.

Aims. We report on the unusual case of a 43-year-old man who developed recurrent meningeal hemangiopericytoma and presented with hypoglycemia 6 years after excision of the tumor. Methods and

Results.

We utilized computed tomography to assure multiple tumor metastasis and cranial recurrence of previous meningeal hemangiopericytoma and clinical laboratory tests and immunohistochemical staining to characterize this case. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography showed the recurrent tumor at original torcular site was increased in size. Abnormal low levels of growth hormone, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor-I except insulin-like growth factor-II were detected in the serum. By immunohistochemistry, the neoplastic cells characteristically express diffusely CD99, bcl2, and variable CD34. After radio- and chemotherapy, serum glucose level of the patient returned to normal.

Conclusions.

Comparing other brain tumors, meningeal hemangiopericytoma has a higher recurrent and metastatic rate, but this tumor with hypoglycemia is very rare.

Because hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia are harmful and not always associated with overt clinical signs, it is necessary to have methods available to screen for glucose levels to detect hypoglycemia and diabetes as early as possible. A new method for such screening and the clinical determination of blood total hexose on a dry blood spot (DBS) using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed.The serum glucose controls and blood were prepared as DBS and then extracted into a methanol solution containing isotope-labeled internal standards. The methanolic extraction was subjected to HPLC, followed by MS/MS in positive ion mode. Multiple-reaction monitoring of m/z 203.1→23 was used to detect hexose, and m/z 209.0→23 was used for 13C6-D-glucose.The recoveries of blood glucose by MS/MS were 90%-102% with an R(2) value of 0.999 after linear regression (p<0.001). The controls were within an acceptable range, and the coefficients of variation were less than 10%. The blood total hexose in neonates aged 3-7 days (6.41±1.46 mmol/L) was lower than that in neonates aged 8-30 days (6.66±1.38 mmol/L), and it was lower in neonates than in children aged 1-72 months (7.19±1.87 mmol/L).Quantification of total hexose on a dry blood spot by MS/MS is accurate, reliable and feasible for screening and clinical tests.