LAUSR

Concerns about hypoglycemia in otherwise healthy school-aged children is a common reason for referral to the pediatric endocrine clinic. These concerns are typically based on nonspecific symptoms such as feeling shaky, having headaches, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, or having “spells.” Endocrine causes of hypoglycemia are serious and can be life threatening. Such causes include adrenal insufficiency, growth hormone deficiency, and hyperinsulinism. However, all of these diagnoses are extremely uncommon and the majority would be diagnosed before a child reaches school age. Children who are thought to have symptoms of hypoglycemia are often made to eat frequent snacks and may even have their sleep disrupted to facilitate this. This can create anxiety and further concern, exacerbating the situation. We aimed to determine the incidence of true hypoglycemia in patients who were referred to a tertiary outpatient pediatric endocrinology clinic for evaluation of presumed abnormally low blood sugars.