Hypoglycemia and risk of death in critically ill patients
- PMID: 22992074
- DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1204942
Hypoglycemia and risk of death in critically ill patients
Abstract
Background: Whether hypoglycemia leads to death in critically ill patients is unclear.
Methods: We examined the associations between moderate and severe hypoglycemia (blood glucose, 41 to 70 mg per deciliter [2.3 to 3.9 mmol per liter] and ≤40 mg per deciliter [2.2 mmol per liter], respectively) and death among 6026 critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Patients were randomly assigned to intensive or conventional glucose control. We used Cox regression analysis with adjustment for treatment assignment and for baseline and postrandomization covariates.
Results: Follow-up data were available for 6026 patients: 2714 (45.0%) had moderate hypoglycemia, 2237 of whom (82.4%) were in the intensive-control group (i.e., 74.2% of the 3013 patients in the group), and 223 patients (3.7%) had severe hypoglycemia, 208 of whom (93.3%) were in the intensive-control group (i.e., 6.9% of the patients in this group). Of the 3089 patients who did not have hypoglycemia, 726 (23.5%) died, as compared with 774 of the 2714 with moderate hypoglycemia (28.5%) and 79 of the 223 with severe hypoglycemia (35.4%). The adjusted hazard ratios for death among patients with moderate or severe hypoglycemia, as compared with those without hypoglycemia, were 1.41 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21 to 1.62; P<0.001) and 2.10 (95% CI, 1.59 to 2.77; P<0.001), respectively. The association with death was increased among patients who had moderate hypoglycemia on more than 1 day (>1 day vs. 1 day, P=0.01), those who died from distributive (vasodilated) shock (P<0.001), and those who had severe hypoglycemia in the absence of insulin treatment (hazard ratio, 3.84; 95% CI, 2.37 to 6.23; P<0.001).
Conclusions: In critically ill patients, intensive glucose control leads to moderate and severe hypoglycemia, both of which are associated with an increased risk of death. The association exhibits a dose-response relationship and is strongest for death from distributive shock. However, these data cannot prove a causal relationship. (Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and others; NICE-SUGAR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00220987.).
Comment in
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Understanding low sugar from NICE-SUGAR.N Engl J Med. 2012 Sep 20;367(12):1150-2. doi: 10.1056/NEJMe1208208. N Engl J Med. 2012. PMID: 22992080 No abstract available.
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[Does hypoglycaemia increase mortality risk in critical ill patients? Intensive insulin treatment is only recommended in clinical trials].Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2012 Nov;137(46):2360. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1329027. Epub 2012 Nov 6. Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2012. PMID: 23132153 German. No abstract available.
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ACP Journal Club. Hypoglycemia was associated with increased mortality in ICU patients regardless of glucose control strategy.Ann Intern Med. 2013 Jan 15;158(2):JC3. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-2-201301150-02003. Ann Intern Med. 2013. PMID: 23318337 No abstract available.
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