Differences in the Number of Patients with Severe Hypoglycemia by Month and Their Type 2 Diabetes Background

Severe hypoglycemia is a serious complication of diabetes that can be directly linked to life prognosis and activities of daily living. However, sufficient knowledge regarding the trend of severe hypoglycemia has not been accumulated. In this study, 330 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosed with severe hypoglycemia were analyzed by the month of hypoglycemia onset. The patients were enrolled from those who visited the Critical Care Center of Aizawa Hospital over a 12-year period, from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2019. The results showed that the number of patients with hypoglycemia was the lowest in February and the highest in September. Blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic) was the lowest in September and the highest in June. Blood glucose levels were the lowest in May and the highest in July. HbA1c values were the lowest in August and the highest in October. We also examined differences in the types of drugs administered. The number of drugs administered was the lowest in October and the highest in February. In addition, the proportion of DPP4 inhibitors was the highest in February for patients with hypoglycemia. The results of this study showed a month-tomonth difference in the tendency of patients to visit the emergency room for severe hypoglycemia. In particular, we considered that it was necessary to pay attention to severe hypoglycemia in patients with good glycemic control in the winter months who require treatment with multiple drugs, and in patients with inadequate control in October.