Malglycemia in the critical care setting. Part I: Defining hyperglycemia in the critical care setting using the glycemic ratio

Introduction: Stress-induced hyperglycemia (SIH) is conventionally represented by Blood Glucose (BG) although recent evidence indicates the Glycemic Ratio (GR, quotient of mean BG and estimated preadmission BG) is a superior prognostic marker. We assessed the association between in-hospital mortality and SIH, using BG and GR in an adult medical-surgical ICU. 

Methods: We included patients with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and minimum four BGs in a retrospective cohort investigation (n = 4790). 

Results: A critical SIH threshold of GR 1.1 was identified. Mortality increased with increasing exposure to GR ≥ 1.1 (r² = 0.94, p = 0.0007). Duration of exposure to BG ≥ 180 mg/dL demonstrated a less robust association with mortality (r² = 0.75, p = 0.059). In risk-adjusted analyses, hours GR ≥ 1.1 (OR 1.0014, 95%CI (1.0003–1.0026), p = 0.0161) and hours BG ≥ 180 mg/dL (OR 1.0080, 95%CI (1.0034–1.0126), p = 0.0006) were associated with mortality. In the cohort with no exposure to hypoglycemia however, only hours GR ≥ 1.1 was associated with mortality (OR 1.0027, 95%CI (1.0012–1.0043), p = 0.0007), not BG ≥ 180 mg/dL (OR 1.0031, 95%CI (0.9949–1.0114), p = 0.50) and this relationship remained intact for those who never experienced BG outside the 70-180 mg/dL range (n = 2494). 

Conclusions: Clinically significant SIH commenced above GR 1.1. Mortality was associated with hours of exposure to GR ≥ 1.1 which was a superior marker of SIH compared to BG.