Admission hyperglycaemia is associated with higher mortality in patients with hip fracture.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the proportion of hip-fracture patients with admission hyperglycaemia, and, when present, whether it was associated with a worse outcome (i.e. increased length of hospital stay, admission to ICU, or mortality).


METHODS
Over a 2-year period, we retrospectively analysed records of patients with a primary diagnosis of hip fracture (ICD-9-CM 820.x). The records were retrieved from an electronic hospital database.


RESULTS
An admission blood sugar level (aBSL) greater than 140 mg/dl was observed in 34% of the patients and was associated with a higher in-hospital mortality (P=0.042). ICU admissions and length of stay did not differ for patients having an aBSL above or below the 140 mg/dl cut-off.


CONCLUSIONS
Hyperglycaemia is common in hip-fracture patients. A high aBSL might serve as a prognostic indicator in hip-fracture patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of hyperglycaemia-associated mortality in less severely traumatised patients, who generally are not admitted to an ICU.
Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals, Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Riccardo
R
Leto
Didier
D
Desruelles
Jean-Bernard
JB
Gillet
Marc B
MB
Sabbe
D017677:Age Distribution; D001530:Belgium; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001786:Blood Glucose