HIGH-INCIDENCE OF HYPOGLYCEMIC EPISODES WITH NEUROLOGIC MANIFESTATIONS IN CHILDREN WITH INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS

Hypoglycemia is a serious frequent complication of insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes, Patients and Methods: We surveyed 139 IDDM patients, Results: Forty-four patients (32%) reported at least one severe hypogl ycemic episode, All patients with severe hypoglycemia experienced neur ological manifestations. Symptoms included confusion and abnormal beha vior, convulsions, coma, transient hemiparesis and one case of permane nt hemiparesis. Most episodes occurred at night or during morning hour s. 44% of episodes were related to delayed meal or snack, 11% to exces s insulin administration and 13% to extra physical activity. HbA(1c) w as significantly lower in patients with severe hypoglycemia compared w ith diabetic controls (7.33+/-1.09% and 9.45+/-4.32%, respectively).