Hyperglycemia as a prognostic factor for increased mortality in patients admitted in Pediatric ICU.

Abstract

Objective: To study the prevalence and frequency of hyperglycemia in critically ill children. To juxtapose mortality rate in critically ill patients with hyperglycemia against those having normal blood glucose levels. Study Design: Descriptive Case Series. Setting: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of HITEC, IMS Taxila, Al-Ihsan Hospital Rawalpindi & Hameed Latif Teaching Hospital, Lahore. Period: March 2023 to October 2023. Methods: One hundred critically ill children admitted to PICU were included. Patients who had blood glucose levels more than 150mg/dl within 48 hours of admission were included in the hyperglycemic group (Group A).Patients with normal blood sugars were included in Group B. The normoglycemic and hyperglycemic groups were followed till 10 days to determine the mortality associated with hyperglycemia. Results: Mean age of the children was 6.7± 6.29 months. There were 72% male children and 28% female children. Mean blood glucose levels at baseline, after 24h hours, after 36 hours and after 48 hours were 194.91± 135.66mg/dl, 156.91±74.89mg/dl, 156.21 ±83.05mg/dl and 150.13±70.68mg/dl. Frequency of hyperglycemia was observed in 55% (n= 55). Mortality rate was 43% (n= 43/100). Furthermore, mortality rate was crucially inflated 63.6% (n= 35) in hyperglycemic victims than normoglycemic patients (p=<0.001). Conclusion: Frequency of high blood sugar along with mortality within 10 days of hospitalization in children with hyperglyceemia was found higher in patients admitted to Pediatric ICU.