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Intensive Care Medicine
Published in: Intensive Care Medicine 8/2004

01-08-2004 | Brief Report

Hyperglycaemia and mortality in critically ill patients

A prospective study

Authors: Christian Christiansen, Palle Toft, Hans Skriver Jørgensen, Søren Kæseler Andersen, Else Tønnesen

Published in: Intensive Care Medicine | Issue 8/2004

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Abstract

Objective

To describe hyperglycaemia as a possible marker of morbidity and mortality in critically ill medical and surgical patients admitted to a multidisciplinary ICU.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

A 13-bed non-cardiac multidisciplinary ICU in a university hospital.

Patients and participants

Adult patients consecutively admitted to the ICU in a 6-month period. Patients with fewer than 2 days’ stay in the ICU and patients with known diabetes were excluded.

Measurements and results

At admission a registration form was filled in including demographic data, first and second day APACHE II scores, infections and daily maximum blood glucose level. In surgical patients, high maximum blood glucose level during the stay in ICU was correlated with increased mortality, morbidity and frequency of infection. In medical patients, we found a non-significant trend towards a correlation between hyperglycaemia and morbidity and mortality, respectively.

Conclusions

High blood glucose level during the stay in ICU was a marker of increased morbidity and mortality in critically ill surgical patients. In medical patients the same trend was found, but non-significant. The population of patients in the present study are heterogeneous and the results from surgical critically ill patients should not be generalised to medical patients.
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Metadata
Title
Hyperglycaemia and mortality in critically ill patients
A prospective study
Authors
Christian Christiansen
Palle Toft
Hans Skriver Jørgensen
Søren Kæseler Andersen
Else Tønnesen
Publication date
01-08-2004
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Intensive Care Medicine / Issue 8/2004
Print ISSN: 0342-4642
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1238
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-004-2325-2

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