Hyperglycaemia

Hyperglycemia
White hexagons in the image represent glucose molecules, which are increased in the lower image.
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Endocrinology
ICD-10	R73.9
ICD-9-CM	790.29
DiseasesDB	6234
MedlinePlus	007228
MeSH	D006943
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Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar (also spelled hyperglycaemia or hyperglycæmia) is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. This is generally a blood sugar level higher than 11.1 mmol/l (200 mg/dl), but symptoms may not start to become noticeable until even higher values such as 15–20 mmol/l (~250–300 mg/dl). A subject with a consistent range between ~5.6 and ~7 mmol/l (100–126 mg/dl) (American Diabetes Association guidelines) is considered slightly hyperglycemic, while above 7 mmol/l (126 mg/dl) is generally held to have diabetes. For diabetics, glucose levels that are considered to be too hyperglycemic can vary from person to person, mainly due to the person's renal threshold of glucose and overall glucose tolerance. On average however, chronic levels above 10-12 mmol/L (180-216 mg/dL) can produce noticeable organ damage over time.

The origin of the term is Greek: prefix ὑπέρ- hyper- "over-", γλυκός glycos "sweet wine, must", αἷμα haima "blood", -ία, -εια -ia suffix for abstract nouns of feminine gender.

It is critical for patients who monitor glucose levels at home to be aware of which units of measurement their testing kit uses. Glucose levels are measured in either:

Scientific journals are moving towards using mmol/l; some journals now use mmol/l as the primary unit but quote mg/dl in parentheses.

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