Child hypoglycaemia: IV 10% glucose 🚨 👶
🚨 👶 PAEDIATRIC HIGH ALERT — EDUCATIONAL DRAFT, NOT A PRESCRIBING ORDER. Drug choice, indication, formulation, dose, route and monitoring require current BNF/BNFC, product SmPC and local NHS protocol. Source reviewed 3 November 2026; independent clinical/pharmacy sign-off pending.
🧬 Mechanism and reason for use
- IV glucose corrects immediate cerebral glucose deprivation; identify the cause to prevent recurrence.
- Child with known severe hypoglycaemia and impaired consciousness/seizure, when IV/IO treatment required in emergency.
💊 Indication-specific UK regimen / dosing boundary
- RCUK 2025 paediatric emergency drug chart: 10% glucose 2 mL/kg IV/IO for known hypoglycaemia; check capillary glucose after 5–10 minutes and repeat/continue treatment according to response and local protocol.
- Neonatal exception: use neonatal protocol (RCUK chart notes a distinct newborn dose); do not extrapolate this child regimen to neonates.
🔎 Before writing a prescription
- Confirm blood glucose value, current weight, fluid concentration and IV/IO patency; get paediatric resuscitation help.
🧪 Monitoring and reassessment
- Recheck glucose at 5–10 minutes, monitor consciousness, feeding/ongoing infusions and recurrent hypoglycaemia.
🚨 Serious pitfalls / when to escalate
- 10% glucose is not the same volume as 20% or 50%; concentration errors can be dangerous.
- Treat cause (insulin, sepsis, metabolic disease); glucose may fall again.
📖 UK reference documents
Editorial status: Source checked for the specific statements above on 3 November 2026. References may be updated. This card has not had formal independent pharmacist/consultant approval; no unlisted indications, paediatric extrapolation or automatic renal-dose adjustments are implied.
