Final answer:
If a diabetic patient on insulin therapy misses a meal, the result can be hypoglycemia due to the lack of glucose intake to balance the insulin administered.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a diabetic patient takes insulin but fails to eat a scheduled meal, the emergency situation that can occur is hypoglycemia. This happens because insulin therapy lowers blood glucose levels, and without the intake of food to raise these levels, they can drop too low, leading to hypoglycemia. Severe and persistent hypoglycemia indicates that the insulin dose is too high and needs to be adjusted. It is important to note that while missed doses of insulin can lead to ketoacidosis, especially in type 1 diabetes, this is not the scenario described in the question. Instead, hypoglycemia occurs due to the administered insulin without the compensatory glucose from the scheduled meal.