title: A prospective observational study of the relationship of critical illness associated hyperglycaemia in medical ICU patients and subsequent development of type 2 diabetes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Critical illness is commonly complicated by hyperglycaemia caused by mediators of stress and inflammation. Severity of disease is the main risk factor for development of hyperglycaemia, but not all severely ill develop hyperglycemia and some do even in mild disease. We hypothesised that acute disease only exposes a latent disturbance of glucose metabolism which puts those patients at higher risk for developing diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical patients with no history of impaired glucose metabolism or other endocrine disorder admitted to an intensive care unit between July 1998 and June 2004 were considered for inclusion. Glucose was measured at least two times a day, and patients were divided into the hyperglycaemia group (glucose ≥7.8 mmol/l) and normoglycaemia group. An oral glucose tolerance test was performed within six weeks after discharge to disclose patients with unknown diabetes or pre-diabetes who were excluded. Patients treated with corticosteroids and those terminally ill were also excluded from the follow-up which lasted for a minimum of five years with annual oral glucose tolerance tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A five-year follow-up was completed for 398 patients in the normoglycaemia group, of which 14 (3.5%) developed type 2 diabetes. In the hyperglycaemia group 193 patients finished follow-up and 33 (17.1%) developed type 2 diabetes. The relative risk for type 2 diabetes during five years after the acute illness was 5.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.1 to 10.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with hyperglycaemia during acute illness who are not diagnosed with diabetes before or during the hospitalization should be considered a population at increased risk for developing diabetes. They should, therefore, be followed-up, in order to be timely diagnosed and treated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Centre Rebro, Kispaticeva 12, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. ivan.gornik@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gornik
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vujaklija-Brajkovic
authors.forename: Ivana Pavlic
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Renar
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gasparovic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D016638:Critical Illness; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000150:complications*; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose