Just a question regarding protocols with the point brought up saying 'if the patient looks and is acting hypoglycemic, don't withhold treatment because of what the device said' (or something along those lines). Our protocols for hypoglycemia (whether we're giving oral glucose, glucagon or D50) state that the patient must have a blood glucose lower than 4.0 (we use a different scale in Canada, i'm not too sure what it translates to for the American scale).
So what happens if your pt is looking and 'acting' hypoglycemic and you get that reading (multiple times)? Do you treat or do you follow protocol? Just wondering, I'm still a student so I'm not too sure how things would work then. Call medical direction after you have already explored the other reasons the pt could be altered (what I am assuming the pt would be)? Or just make the call on your own?
