Relative Hypoglycemia in Diabetic Patients With Critical Illness

Abstract

Objectives: – Relative hypoglycemia is a decrease in glucose greater than or equal to 30% below prehospital admission levels (estimated by hemoglobin A1C) but not to absolute hypoglycemia levels. It is a recognized pathophysiologic phenomenon in ambulant poorly controlled diabetic patients but remains unexamined during critical illness. We examined the frequency, characteristics, and outcome associations of relative hypoglycemia in diabetic patients with critical illness. Design: – Retrospective cohort study. Setting: – ICU of a tertiary hospital. Patients: – One-thousand five-hundred ninety-two critically ill diabetic patients between January 2013 and December 2017. Interventions: – None. M..