Background Hyperglycemia during critical illness is common and associated with increased mortality. Intensive insulin therapy has improved outcomes in some, but not all, intervention trials. It is currently unclear whether the benefits of treatment differ among specific patient populations. Objective To determine the association between hyperglycemia and risk-adjusted mortality in critically ill patients and in separate groups stratified by admission diagnosis. Secondarily, determine if mortality risk from hyperglycemia varies with ICU type, length of stay, or diagnosed diabetes. Design Retrospective cohort study Setting 173 U.S. medical, surgical, and cardiac ICUs Patients 259,040 admissions from 10/2002–9/2005; unadjusted mortality, 11.2% Measurements A two-level logistic regression model determined the relationship between glycemia and mortality. Age, diagnosis, co-morbidities and laboratory variables were used to calculate a predicted mortality, which was then analyzed with mean glucose to determine the association of hyperglycemia with hospital mortality. Results Hyperglycemia was associated with increased mortality independent of illness severity. When compared to normoglycemic individuals (70–110 mg/dl), adjusted odds of mortality (odds ratio, [95% CI]) for mean glucose 111–145, 146–199, 200–300, > 300 mg/dl was, 1.31(1.26–1.36), 1.82(1.74–1.90), 2.13(2.03–2.25), and 2.85(2.58–3.14) respectively. Moreover, the adjusted odds of mortality related to hyperglycemia varied with admission diagnosis, demonstrating a clear association in some (acute myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, unstable angina, pulmonary embolism) and little or no association in others. Hyperglycemia was associated with increased mortality independent of ICU type, length of stay and diabetes. Conclusions The association between hyperglycemia and mortality implicates hyperglycemia as a potentially harmful and correctable abnormality in critically ill patients. The finding that hyperglycemia-related risk varied with admission diagnosis suggests differences in the interaction between specific medical conditions and injury from hyperglycemia. The design and interpretation of future trials should consider the primary disease states of patients and the balance of medical conditions in the ICU studied.

: Admission diagnosis and severity of illness influence frequency and severity of acute kidney injury. Small elevations in creatinine in the intensive care unit are associated with increased risk-adjusted mortality across all intensive care unit settings, whereas renal recovery was associated with a protective effect. Strategies to prevent even mild acute kidney injury or promote renal recovery may improve survival.

Although the CMS V21 and DxCG prospective risk scores were similar, the DxCG model with pharmacy data offered improved fit over V21. However, health care systems, such as the VA, can recalibrate the V21 model with additional variables to develop a tailored risk score that compares favorably to the DxCG models.

This study investigated the effect of abnormal autonomic cardiovascular function on heart rate variability (HRV) in individuals classified into four groups: complete quadriplegia, incomplete quadriplegia, low paraplegia, and non-spinal cord injury (SCI) controls. Measurements were collected at baseline and during provocative maneuvers. Spectral analysis using a fast-Fourier transform algorithm revealed two spectral components of HRV, termed low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF); the LF-to-HF ratio (estimate of sympathovagal balance) was also calculated. Each group of subjects with quadriplegia exhibited significantly lower spectral components for both baseline and composite provocative measures compared with the non-SCI controls (P < 0.05). In addition, the group with paraplegia demonstrated significantly lower HF baseline and LF composite levels than controls (P < 0.05). No differences were observed among all groups for the LF-to-HF ratio. This consistency in the LF-to-HF ratio suggests that the two autonomic divisions that regulate the cardiovascular system maintain homeostasis even when one component is severely compromised. This is supported by the additional findings of decreased parasympathetic activity in the two groups with quadriplegia and the absence of significant differences among any of the four groups at rest in either heart rate or blood pressure.

No abstract