Prehospital Care of Pediatric Hypoglycemic Seizure Patients in the State of North Carolina: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric seizures are commonly encountered in emergency medical services (EMS). Evidence is accumulating that the rate of hypoglycemia in this setting is low, challenging the concept of routine prehospital glucose measurement.

OBJECTIVE: We studied factors associated with EMS protocol compliance for glucose testing in children < 18 years of age with a 9-1-1 call for seizure as well as rates of hypoglycemia in the prehospital setting.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of data from the North Carolina EMS registry from 2013 to 2014. North Carolina EMS protocols require glucose measurement prior to seizure treatment. Scene calls for patients ≤ 17 years with a complaint of seizure were included. We calculated incidence of testing, hypoglycemia, and the relative risk of compliance with glucose measurement.

RESULTS: There were 13,182 calls for seizure, of which 6,262 (47.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 46.6% to 48.3%) had a glucose obtained. Hypoglycemia (glucose < 60 mg/dL) was present in 78 of 6,262 (1.25%, 95% CI = 0.97% to 1.5%) patients. Glucose was supplemented in 61 patients (median glucose 61 mg/dL, interquartile range = 51 to 67 mg/dL). Testing rates increased with age (relative risk [RR] = 1.04 per year, 95% CI = 1.03-1.04 per year), emergency medical technician-paramedic (EMT-P) presence (RR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.1-1.3) and with antiepileptic medication use (RR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.1 to 1.2). Testing was less likely in nonwhite patients (RR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.92 to 0.98).

CONCLUSIONS: Compliance is suboptimal, varying with patient age, race, and EMT-P presence. Testing increases when antiepileptic drugs are used. Hypoglycemia in tested patients was infrequent; however, proper treatment for hypoglycemic seizures will not be delivered if testing does not occur. It is worthwhile examining the utility of routine testing in this setting; however, until such time as protocols are revised, regional EMS administration should focus on education and uniform compliance with state protocols.