A patient has a blood glucose of 42 mg/dL. What is the priority action?

• A. Administer fast-acting glucose per protocol and monitor; check vitals and recheck BG.
• B. Notify physician and wait.
• C. Provide a snack at next meal.
• D. Administer insulin per protocol.

Answer: (A)

When blood glucose drops this low, the priority is to raise it quickly to prevent brain impairment. A reading of 42 mg/dL is dangerously low, so the immediate action is to give a fast-acting carbohydrate per protocol and then monitor closely, rechecking the blood glucose after a short period. This approach directly corrects the deficit, confirms that it’s rising into a safe range, and allows further steps based on the new value. Waiting for a physician or giving insulin would worsen the situation, and giving a snack at the next meal would not address the urgent hypoglycemia. If the patient cannot swallow or is unconscious, alternate methods like IV dextrose or glucagon are used, but the key idea remains: rapidly elevate the glucose now and reassess.