New and Delayed Artifactual Hypoglycemia Following Septic Shock in Two Scleroderma Patients

Abstract

The term artifactual hypoglycemia refers to a discrepancy between plasma glucose levels and what is noted on fingerstick glucose checks. In this report, we discuss the cases of two patients with scleroderma and Raynaud's phenomenon who developed artifactual hypoglycemia while recovering from critical illness. In both cases, validation by earlobe measurements helped avoid further escalation of care and potential patient safety issues. There have been previous reports of artifactual hypoglycemia in this patient population, but the unique timing of symptom onset in these two patients provides a more nuanced understanding of the pathophysiology of this phenomenon.

Keywords: capillary blood glucose; factitious hypoglycemia; fingerstick; patient health safety; systemic scleroderma.