A real sugar high? Wheeze and associated hyperglycemia

Transient hyperglycemia is defined as blood glucose greater than 8.6 mmol/L associated with acute illness, and it occurs in 0.4% to 4% of children seen in hospital (ED attendances or admitted to inpatient wards). The degree of hyperglycemia and compensated acidosis with glycosuria and ketonuria in this case was surprising, and although the most likely diagnosis was salbutamol-potentiated transient hyperglycemia, the authors were interested to ascertain what the risk of insulin-dependent diabetes in this child would be and whether this degree of hyperglycemia had any negative influence on outcome.