Hypoglycaemia can mimic stroke with focal weakness, speech disturbance or confusion, and takes seconds to exclude. Check a capillary glucose in every patient with sudden neurological symptoms before deciding on imaging pathways or thrombolysis, and correct it if low.
Document the time of onset or the time last known well, because that determines which treatments are possible.
- Check capillary glucose in every sudden neurological deficit
- Correct hypoglycaemia and reassess the deficit
- Record the time last known well
- Do not let a normal glucose delay imaging
Why it matters
A reversible mimic is the cheapest diagnosis to exclude.
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