"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.