Prolonged hyperinsulinemia after subcutaneous injection of 2400 U regular insulin in a suicide attempt: Time course of serum insulin with frequent measurements

We studied the time course of serum insulin level in a patient who injected large amounts of regular insulin in an attempted suicide. A 58-year-old woman attempted suicide by subcutaneously injecting herself with 2400 U regular insulin. On arrival, the serum glucose level was 2.4 mmol/L (44 mg/dL) and the serum insulin level was 40,000 pmol/L (5700 μIU/mL). The serum insulin level was high, with a maximum of 110,000 pmol/L (16,000 μIU/mL) at 13 h after injection, followed by an initial rapid decrease and a subsequent slow decrease, with hyperinsulinemia lasting as long as 5 days after injection. (J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040-1124.2012.00211.x, 2012).