Hypoglycemia is claimed to be a medical term for a condition generated by a lower than normal level of blood glucose. Scientists account that they seem to have discovered an association between mild to moderate hypoglycemia and mortality in gravely ill patients.
The multicenter study encompassed around 6 medical centers from Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The aim of the study was to comprehend the epidemiology, acuteness, duration, recovery and result connections of hypoglycemia in seriously ill patients. Out of the 4,946 patients included in the study, roughly 1,109 underwent hypoglycemia and the remaining 3,837 did not, supposedly serving as the nonhypoglycemia control group.
Rinaldo Bellomo, M.D., a co-investigator from the Department of Intensive Care, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, commented, “Even after adjustment for insulin therapy or timing of hypoglycemic episode, the more severe the hypoglycemia, the greater the risk of death.â€
Mild to moderate degrees of hypoglycemia were formerly deemed to be clinically insignificant. Nevertheless, the study discovered that patients with hypoglycemia supposedly almost had twice the rate of mortality i.e. 36.6 percent against 19.7 percent as opposed to those who did not suffer from the condition.
Dr. Bellomo remarked, “This risk of death persisted after correction for other risk factors, suggesting that hypoglycemia may independently contribute to this increased risk.â€
Dr. Bellomo mentioned that their results suggest that any tolerance of mild to moderate hypoglycemia by intensive care clinicians may be undesirable. In this regard, newer technologies such as continuous glucose monitoring in the ICU setting might help avoid hypoglycemia or identify it earlier.
The study is published in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.