We report an 80-year-old man with type 2 diabetes who presented with life-threatening hypoglycemia (36 mg/dL) and coma, requiring high-dose insulin (74 units/day). Exogenous insulin antibody syndrome (EIAS) was suspected due to his glycemic instability and high insulin requirements. Subsequent testing confirmed elevated insulin antibodies (8.7 U/mL). Switching insulin analogues (to 32 units/day) promptly achieved stable glycemic control. This case highlights that EIAS, an under-recognized cause of unpredictable glycemia in insulin-treated diabetes, should be considered in patients with severe hypoglycemia and high insulin requirements. Modifying the insulin regimen is key for diagnosis and treatment.
{"title":"Exogenous Insulin Antibody Syndrome: An Overlooked Cause of Severe Hypoglycemia and Insulin Resistance in a Patient With Type 2 Diabetes Treated With Insulin","authors":"Kazuki Miyaue, Hiroki Isono","doi":"10.1002/jgf2.70085","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jgf2.70085","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We report an 80-year-old man with type 2 diabetes who presented with life-threatening hypoglycemia (36 mg/dL) and coma, requiring high-dose insulin (74 units/day). Exogenous insulin antibody syndrome (EIAS) was suspected due to his glycemic instability and high insulin requirements. Subsequent testing confirmed elevated insulin antibodies (8.7 U/mL). Switching insulin analogues (to 32 units/day) promptly achieved stable glycemic control. This case highlights that EIAS, an under-recognized cause of unpredictable glycemia in insulin-treated diabetes, should be considered in patients with severe hypoglycemia and high insulin requirements. Modifying the insulin regimen is key for diagnosis and treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":51861,"journal":{"name":"Journal of General and Family Medicine","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jgf2.70085","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145970189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}