The radiological findings of hypoglycemic encephalopathy

Rationale: Hypoglycemic encephalopathy is a metabolic encephalopathy. Clinical risk is mixed with acute cerebrovascular disease, so it is critical to identify and make the correct diagnosis of the disease as early as possible. Patient concerns: Here, we report a case of a 51-year-old male patient with hypoglycemic encephalopathy, who presented confusion and unconsciousness for 1 day. Diagnoses: In addition to blood-related indicators and medical histories, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), can be valuable to the diagnosis of hypoglycemic encephalopathy, which showed diffuse high-signal intensity in the cerebral cortex, and also the hippocampus, head of the caudate nucleus, the lentiform nucleus, and corpus callosum. Interventions: Intravenous glucose injection and drip was performed repeatedly. The blood glucose levels were gradually corrected, and the resulting blood glucose was 6.5 mmol/L. Outcomes: The prognosis depends on the degree of hypoglycemia, duration, and condition of the organism. Due to the long duration of hypoglycemia, unfortunately, the patient died. Lessons: It is critical to diagnose hypoglycemic encephalopathy as early as possible. MRI reveals diffuse abnormal intensity in the cortex and basal ganglia region. DWI using high b values provides important information for diagnosis.