ABSTRACT
The syndrome of alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia is particularly important amongst the many alterations in metabolic and endocrine function produced by alcohol. Alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia was first observed by Brown and Harvey amongst illicit alcohol users in the USA. The blood glucose concentration in a patient with alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia is almost invariably below 40 mg-100 ml and often less than 30 mg-100 ml. Alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia can be treated by giving the stuporose but still conscious patient 25-30 g sugar by mouth; the comatose patient should be given the same amount of glucose intravenously. Spontaneous recovery from individual episodes of alcohol-induced hypoglycaemia is presumably the rule — even in the absence of specific treatment.
