Dextrose is a simple sugar, also called glucose, which supplies energy to your body. It is used in a variety of medications and health conditions for providing fluids with sugar to your body, as a transport for other injectable medicines, to treat hypoglycemia or manage comas. Dextrose is administered in liquid form using a needle and syringe.
Fluid Replacement
Dextrose is used as a medication, or treatment, when you need extra carbohydrates and fluids. Fluid replacement using dextrose injections is given to critically ill patients that cannot take in enough fluids and in postoperative patients as a fluid replacement that avoids sodium overload, according to a discussion paper published in the October 1991 issue of the “Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.” Surgical patients do not take in fluids prior to surgery and suffer from fluid depletion because of this. A prolonged surgery causes further depletion, but post-operative patients also have a diminished urinary excretion. Because of their low urine output, doctors use dextrose injections instead of a saline solution, which may cause them to retain sodium.
Medicine Transport
Dextrose is combined with fructose and phosphoric acid to treat nausea and vomiting. It comes in various forms, including tablet, liquid solution and syrup. This treatment has not been tested and proved effective for this condition as of 2011, notes the MayoClinic.com. Dextrose can also be mixed with other drugs as a glucose transporter for cancer therapy, according to a review published in the February 2007 issue of “Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters.” It can also be used as one way to give patients other injectable medicine combinations.
Emergency Treatment
A solution of 50 percent dextrose solution is used in emergency cases to treat hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, seizures, altered levels of consciousness and cases of coma where the cause is not known, according to Brooklyn University. Using a mixed dextrose solution to treat hypoglycemia in diabetes patients can cause complications and even death, according to the American Diabetes Association. A diabetic 78-year-old man treated with vanocomycin diluted with 250 milliliters of a 5 percent dextrose solution had trouble with his blood sugar levels even after continuous insulin infusions. After removing the dextrose from the medication solution, his blood glucose levels decreased.
Side Effects
Dextrose is generally well tolerated, but if you are allergic, it can cause hives, rash, difficulty breathing or tightness in your chest. Another side effect is swelling in your face, mouth, lips, tongue, hands or feet. Confusion, seizure or muscles twitching are other side effects.
References
- Drugs.com; Dextrose; August 2011
- Dictionary.com: Dextrose; 2002
- Mayo Clinic; Furctose, Dextrose, and Phosphoric Acid; May 2011
- American Diabetes Association; Potentially Important Contribution of Dextrose Used as Diluent to Hyperglycemia; F.J. Krajicek, M.D.; April 2005
- Brooklyn College; Dextrose 50%
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Dextrose (Injection); January 2010
- "Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine"; Postoperative Fluid Therapy; G.H. Kruegener, M.B.; October 1991
