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Susan Levenstein, MD
Nuovo Regina Margherita Hospital Rome, Italy

JAMA. 1981;246(14):1545-1546.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Glucagon in pharmacological doses has been widely used to treat insulin reactions, food bolus impaction, and acute pancreatitis and as a hypotonic agent in gastrointestinal (GI) radiology. We report a potentially serious complication after the diagnostic use of this usually innocuous hormone.

Report of a Case.—

A mentally intact, nondiabetic, mildly hypertensive 78-year-old woman underwent double-contrast upper GI tract x-ray examination for dyspepsia. The examination was completed smoothly using 0.5 mg of glucagon injected intravenously; this agent is given routinely in our institution to enhance mucosal detail in air-barium contrast studies of the stomach. After 30 minutes the patient complained of dizziness and abdominal cramping and abruptly lost consciousness. No seizure movements were observed. When she woke up after two minutes, she was noted to have a paretic right arm, a right central facial paresis, and a blood pressure (BP) of 100/60 mm Hg. Over the next . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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