Diabetes and Surgery - Part2 - dealing with diabetic emergencies

07/14/15 • 8 min

"Doctor!" the nurse shouts, "the patient admitted earlier with abdominal pain has a blood sugar of 36! He doesn't look very well! What shall I do?!"
Fortunately, you had listened to this podcast by Naomi Laskar and Roger Stanworth about recognising and dealing with diabetic emergencies on the surgical ward, and you knew exactly what was going on and what to do!
This podcast covers diabetic ketoacidosis (not infrequently presenting to surgery as abdominal pain as the main symptom), the superbly named HONC (now more boringly called HHS), other causes of ketosis and what kind of fluids to give diabetic patients.
Essential listening for all medical students and trainee doctors, you can save a life in the middle of the night.
Naomi Laskar is a doctor at Royal Derby Hospital, UK, and Roger Stanworth is a Consultant Diabetologist, also at RDH.

Previous Episode

Diabetes and Surgery - Part1

Many patients who we operate on have diabetes as well. Complications are more common in patients with diabetes and we need to know how to look after their blood sugar, where to put them on the operating list, how to deal with the nil by mouth periods, how to prescribe insulin and when and special precautions which we need to take when arranging imaging for these patients.
Naomi Laskar talks to Roger Stanworth about how to look after a patient with diabetes on a surgical ward. Essential listening for any medical student or surgical trainee.
Next time - how to recognise and deal with diabetic emergencies presenting on a surgical ward

Next Episode

Histology of undecalcified bone - cortex, canaliculi and canals

itunes pic
Susan Anderson (Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Nottingham) takes you on a microscopic tour of the structure of bone with some of the most beautiful histological images in the series yet. See the structure of bone, haversian canals, osteons, lamellae and learn how osteocytes communicate information about stresses in the bone and how to grow and maintain bone.
Also, if you're stuck for naming your baby, you can decide whether Clopton is a nice name for a boy!