Hypoglycemia in bacterial septicemia

In the emergency department (ED), the typical manifestation of impaired glucose homeostasis seen in patients with severe bacterial infections is hyperglycemia. Severe hypoglycemia is generally not a presenting feature of sepsis in children in the emergency setting, and thus may lead to delayed diagnosis and management. We present a case of a 14-year-old boy who attended the ED with constitutional symptoms and severe hypoglycemia as the initial presentation of overwhelming meningococcal sepsis and discuss the impairment of glucose homeostasis in patients with sepsis.