The role of admission blood glucose in outcome prediction of surviving patients with multiple injuries.
BACKGROUND
Recent literature demonstrates hyperglycemia to be common in patients with trauma and associated with poor outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury and critically ill patients. The goal of this study was to analyze the impact of admission blood glucose on the outcome of surviving patients with multiple injuries.


METHODS
Patients' charts (age >16) admitted to the emergency room of the University Hospital of Berne, Switzerland, between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2004, with an Injury Severity Score >or=17 and more than one severely injured organ system were reviewed retrospectively. Outcome measurements included morbidity, intensive care unit, and hospital length of stay.


RESULTS
The inclusion criteria were met by 555 patients, of which 108 (19.5%) patients died. After multiple regression analysis, admission blood glucose proved to be an independent predictor of posttraumatic morbidity (p < 0.0001), intensive care unit, and hospital length of stay (p < 0.0001), despite intensified insulin therapy on the intensive care unit.


CONCLUSIONS
In this population of patients with multiple injuries, hyperglycemia on admission was strongly associated with increased morbidity, especially infections, prolonged intensive care unit, and hospital length of stay independent of injury severity, gender, age, and various biochemical parameters.
Kreutziger
Janett
J
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. janett.kreutziger@uki.at
Schlaepfer
Jessica
J
Wenzel
Volker
V
Constantinescu
Mihai Adrian
MA
D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011379:Prognosis; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D055815:Young Adult
D001786:Blood Glucose