title: Stress hyperglycaemia in critically ill patients: potential role of incretin hormones; a preliminary study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stress hyperglycaemia is common in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting and has been related to a worst outcome.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to characterize the association of glucoregulatory hormones, mainly incretins, with the levels of glycaemia, and its relationship with outcome in ICU patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively studied 60 patients. Stress hyperglycaemia was diagnosed when glycaemia was < 115 mg/dL. At ICU admission we determined glycaemia, insulin, glucagon, cortisol, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) plasma levels. Groups were compared using Kruskal-Wallis test. The association between glycaemia levels and glucoregulatory hormones was evaluated using linear regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-five patients (75%) had hyperglycaemia. We observed no differences in glucoregulatory hormones levels between normo- and hyper- glycaemia groups. Glycaemia levels were not significantly correlated with insulin, glucagon, cortisol or GIP levels, but were correlated with GLP-1 (p = 0.04). GLP-1 was also correlated with cortisol (p = 0.01), but failed to show a significant correlation with insulin, glucagon or GIP levels. Lower levels of plasma GLP-1 were found in patients with stress hyperglycaemia requiring vasoactive support (p = 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Glycaemia levels were correlated with GLP-1 levels in ICU patients. GLP-1 levels were also associated with cortisol. Patients with stress hyperglycaemia who required vasoactive support had lower incretin levels compared with those patients with stress hyperglycaemia who were hemodynamically stables. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01087372).
authors.affiliation: Servei de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitari Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, España. juanantonio.llompart@ssib.es
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Llompart-Pou
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fernández-de-Castillo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Burguera
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez-Bárcena
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marsé
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Yago
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barceló
authors.forename: J Ma
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Raurich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose; D003422:Critical Care; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / Q000097:blood; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D054795:Incretins / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006728:Hormones; D054795:Incretins; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1; D006854:Hydrocortisone