title: Impact of admission blood glucose level on outcomes in community-acquired pneumonia in older adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults. Although diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for pneumonia, the clinical impact of blood glucose level at the time of admission is not clear. Our goal was to examine the association between admission hyperglycemia and subsequent mortality, length of stay, and readmission outcomes in older adults with CAP.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective observational study was conducted using hospital data for community-acquired pneumonia admissions in 857 persons from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. We examined the effects of admission glucose level on mortality, length of stay, and 30 day readmission, adjusted for demographic factors and comorbidity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the sample was 64 years, and 51% of the subjects were female. Inpatient mortality occurred in 4.6% and the median length of stay was 5 days (interquartile range 3-9 days). Readmission within 30 days occurred in 17%. We found little impact of first glucose measures on in-hospital mortality (P = 0.94), length of stay (P = 0.95), and 30-day readmission (P = 0.56). Subjects 65 years and older trended towards higher in-hospital mortality. Older age, cancer, heart failure, and cirrhosis were associated with adverse outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Glucose level upon admission for community-acquired pneumonia was not associated with adverse outcomes within 30 days in older adults.
authors.affiliation: University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Rajib K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mahnken
authors.forename: Sally K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Rigler
keywords: community-acquired pneumonia; hospital mortality; hyperglycemia; readmission rates