Prevalence and clinical outcome of inpatient hyperglycemia in a community pediatric hospital

✍ Scribed by Andres Palacio; Dawn Smiley; Miguel Ceron; Robin Klein; Irene S. Cho; Roberto Mejia; Guillermo E. Umpierrez

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 105 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1553-5592
• DOI: 10.1002/jhm.309

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Inpatient hyperglycemia in adult patients with and without a history of diabetes is a predictor of poor clinical outcome. No previous studies, however, have examined the association of hyperglycemia and clinical outcome in children admitted to a community pediatric hospital.

METHODS:

The study was a retrospective observational cohort of pediatric patients admitted to a community children's hospital from January 2004 to August 2004. Medical records of 903 consecutive children admitted to critical and non–critical care areas were reviewed. Of them, 342 patients (38%) had no blood glucose measurements during their hospital stay. In the remaining patients, we determined the prevalence of hyperglycemia and examined the association of hyperglycemia with clinical outcome.

RESULTS:

A total of 406 patients (75%) had an admission blood glucose ≤120 mg/dL (mean ± SEM 98 ± 1 mg/dL), 103 children (19%) had an admission blood glucose level of 121–179 mg/dL (mean 143 ± 2 mg/dL), and 32 patients (5.9%) had a blood glucose level ≥180 mg/dL (mean 260 ± 18 mg/dL). Seventeen patients (13%) had a known history of diabetes prior to admission. Children with hyperglycemia were more likely to be admitted to the ICU (P < .001) and had a longer length of ICU stay (P < .001), but admission hyperglycemia was not associated with longer hospital stay or higher hospital mortality.

CONCLUSIONS:

Hyperglycemia is present in one‐fourth of children admitted to the hospital, most of them without a history of diabetes prior to admission. Hyperglycemia was associated with a greater need for ICU care and longer ICU stay but not with increased in‐hospital mortality. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2008;3:212–217. © 2008 Society of Hospital Medicine.