27-10: Factitious Hypoglycemia

Factitious hypoglycemia may be difficult to document. A suspicion of self-induced hypoglycemia is supported when the patient is associated with the health professions or has access to insulin or sulfonylurea medications taken by a diabetic member of the family. The triad of hypoglycemia, high immunoreactive insulin, and suppressed plasma C-peptide immunoreactivity is pathognomonic of exogenous insulin administration. Insulin and C-peptide are secreted in a 1:1 molar ratio. A large fraction of the endogenous insulin is cleared by the liver, whereas C-peptide, which is cleared by the kidney, has a lower metabolic clearance rate. For this reason, the molar ratio of insulin and C-peptide in a hypoglycemic patient should be less than 1.0 in cases of insulinoma and is greater than 1.0 in cases of exogenous insulin administration. When sulfonylureas, repaglinide, and nateglinide are suspected as a cause of factitious hypoglycemia, a plasma level of these medications to detect their presence may be required to distinguish laboratory findings from those of insulinoma.