| Glucometer reading is <70 mg/dL and patient is unresponsive. |
• Treat hypoglycemia per protocol without delay. |
| • Call the practitioner immediately.
|
| Consecutive glucose readings are <70 mg/dL. |
• Evaluate the patient’s nutritional intake. |
| • Consider increasing the frequency of glucose monitoring for 24 hours. |
| • Adjust the patient’s diabetes regimen as needed. |
| Glucose readings are 70–100 mg/dL. |
• Call the practitioner as soon as possible.
|
| • Increase the frequency of glucose monitoring. |
| Glucose readings are >250 mg/dL two or more times within 24 hours. |
• Evaluate changes in nutritional intake. |
| • Adjust the diabetes regimen as needed. |
| • Check for omitted medication doses or administration errors. |
| Glucose readings are >300 mg/dL during all or part of 2 consecutive days. |
• If glucose levels are still persistently high after changes in the regimen, perform a clinical evaluation for other causes (e.g., infection). |
| Any glucose reading is too high to be measured with the glucose meter. |
• Confirm high blood glucose by laboratory test. |
| A patient is not eating, is vomiting, or is unable to take oral glucose-lowering medications. |
• Call the practitioner as soon as possible.
|
| • Consider insulin therapy, and adjust the dose accordingly based on nutritional status. |
