Severe Hypoglycemia Due To the Administration of Bromocriptine in a Non-Diabetic Patient: A Case Study

Abstract

The patient was a 24-year-old man with persistent vegetative state following severe traumatic brain injury due to a car accident, who was referred to the emergency department with a generalized tonic-clonic seizure due to severe hypoglycemia. The patient was treated with phenytoin, levetiracetam, bromocriptine and enoxaparine. The patient was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for accurate monitoring. The patient in the ICU was treated with 100 cc/h of Dextrose 10% plus Intravenous antibiotic to treat urinary tract infection induced sepsis. The previous prescribed medications were also prescribed. Despite proper feeding through PEG tube and receiving 100 cc/h of Dextrose 10%, the patient’s blood glucose was dropped frequently below 50 mg/dl and hypertonic glucose infusion was several times required for treatment of hypoglycemia. Administration of bromocriptine as antidiabetic agent was eliminated after consultation with a neurologist surgeon. After bromocriptine discontinuation, hypoglycemia was resolved. In this non-diabetic patient, severe hypoglycemia occurred after administration of bromocriptine, which was an unusual complication in the non-diabetic patient treated with bromocriptine.