Table 1.
Characteristics of Alameda County Emergency Services encounters (2013–2015) for hypoglycemia events, stratified by disposition (N with column % unless otherwise indicated)
| Disposition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL | Transported | Not transported | p-valuea | |
| All, N (row %) | 8,332 | 7,207 (86.4) | 1,125 (13.5) | |
| Race/ethnicity | 0.20 | |||
| African American | 808 (9.7) | 720 (10.0) | 88 (7.8) | |
| Asian/Filipino | 230 (2.8) | 197 (2.7) | 33 (2.9) | |
| White | 819 (9.8) | 712 (9.9) | 107 (9.5) | |
| Other | 223 (2.7) | 189 (2.6) | 34 (3.0) | |
| Missing/unknown | 6252 (75.0) | 5389 (74.8) | 863 (76.7) | |
| Sex | <0.0001 | |||
| Female | 3692 (44.3) | 3256 (45.2) | 436 (38.8) | |
| Male | 4634 (55.6) | 3949 (54.8) | 685 (60.9) | |
| Unknown | 6 (0.1) | 2 (0.0) | 4 (0.4) | |
| Age (years) | <0.0001 | |||
| 0–18 | 90 (1.1) | 81 (1.1) | 9 (0.8) | |
| 19–39 | 902 (10.8) | 704 (9.8) | 198 (17.6) | |
| 40–59 | 2309 (27.7) | 1906 (26.5) | 403 (35.8) | |
| 60–75 | 2932 (35.2) | 2549 (35.4) | 383 (34.0) | |
| >75 | 2094 (25.1) | 1966 (27.3) | 128 (11.4) | |
| Missing | 5 (0.1) | 1 (0.0) | 4 (0.4) | |
| Primary impression | <0.0001 | |||
| Hypoglycemia | 6515 (78.2) | 5538 (76.8) | 977 (86.8) | |
| Missing/none | 168 (2.0) | 116 (1.6) | 52 (4.6) | |
| Altered level of consciousness (Not hypoglycemia or seizure) | 299 (3.6) | 285 (3.9) | 14 (1.2) | |
| General weakness | 238 (2.9) | 223 (3.1) | 15 (1.3) | |
| Cardiac arrest | 75 (0.9) | 74 (1.0) | 1 (0.1) | |
| Hyperglycemia | 93 (1.1) | 79 (1.1) | 14 (1.2) | |
| Seizure | 73 (0.9) | 69 (1.0) | 4 (0.4) | |
| Syncope/near syncope | 73 (0.9) | 64 (0.9) | 9 (0.8) | |
| Dizziness/vertigo | 43 (0.5) | 38 (0.5) | 5 (0.4) | |
| Abdominal pain/problems | 68 (0.8) | 66 (0.9) | 2 (0.2) | |
| Traumatic injury - non-activation | 67 (0.8) | 64 (0.9) | 3 (0.3) | |
| Behavioral/psychiatric crisis | 65(0.8) | 64 (0.9) | 1 (0.1) | |
| All other primary impressions | 555 (6.7) | 527 (7.3) | 28 (2.5) | |
| First EMS Blood Glucose (mg/dL) - Categorical | <0.0001 | |||
| <60 (includes “unspecified low”) | 7276 (87.3) | 6362 (88.3) | 914 (81.2) | |
| ≥60 | 775 (9.3) | 604 (8.4) | 171 (15.2) | |
| Missing | 281 (3.4) | 241 (3.3) | 40 (3.6) | |
| Medications (not mutually exclusive) | ||||
| Dextrose 10%b | 1205 (14.5) | 1081 (15.0) | 124 (11.0) | <0.001 |
| Dextrose 25% | 10 (0.1) | 9 (0.12) | 1 (0.1) | 0.75 |
| Dextrose 50%b | 2890 (35.7) | 2536 (35.2) | 354 (31.5) | 0.015 |
| Glucose paste | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Glucagon | 1 (0.0) | 1 (0.0) | 0 | 1.00 |
| Pickup location | <0.0001 | |||
| Assisted living/nursing home | 650 (7.8) | 636 (8.8) | 14 (1.2) | |
| Clinic | 156 (1.9) | 146 (2.0) | 10 (0.9) | |
| Home/residence | 5903 (70.9) | 5170 (71.7) | 733 (65.2) | |
| Place of business/school | 741 (8.9) | 574 (8.0) | 167 (14.8) | |
| Street/highway | 517 (6.2) | 464 (6.4) | 53 (4.7) | |
| Other | 222 (2.7) | 184 (2.6) | 38 (3.4) | |
| Missing | 143 (1.7) | 33 (0.5) | 110 (9.8) | |
| Transport destination | ||||
| ED/Hospital | 5680 (78.8) | |||
| Medical office/clinic | 0 | |||
| Home | 0 | |||
| Other | 2 (0.0) | |||
| None | 7 (0.1) | |||
| Missing | 1518 (21.1) | |||
| Alcohol use (yes) | 125 (1.5) | 119 (1.7) | 6 (0.5) | 0.004 |
| EMS Arrival Time | <0.001 | |||
| midnight-5:59 | 1530 (18.4) | 1297 (18.0) | 233 (20.7) | |
| 6:00–11:59 | 2266 (27.2) | 2009 (27.9) | 257 (22.8) | |
| 12:00–17:59 | 2492 (29.9) | 2169 (30.1) | 323 (28.7) | |
| 18:00–23:59 | 2044 (24.5) | 1732 (24.0) | 312 (27.7) | |
a
Chi-Square for category or row
b
During the course of this study (2015), the standard intravenous dextrose concentration was changed from a 50% to a 10% solution.