Prevalence and prognosis of hypoglycaemia in patients receiving maintenance dialysis

End-stage renal disease is a common predisposing condition for the development of hypoglycaemia.

To determine the effect of hypoglycaemia on the mortality of patients undergoing maintenance dialysis.

Retrospective and descriptive analyses were performed in five dialysis centres in the Republic of Korea between June 2002 and August 2008. We enrolled 1685 patients who had undergone dialysis for at least 1 month.

We identified 453 episodes of hypoglycaemia in 256 of 1685 patients (15.2%); 189 patients (73.8%) had diabetes, whereas the other patients did not. The occurrence of hypoglycaemia in patients receiving dialysis appeared to be a life-threatening complication because 27.0% of patients died within two days of the onset of a hypoglycaemic episode. Older age, low serum albumin levels and infections were independent risk factors for total mortality in these patients. Furthermore, the absence of diabetes, age and serum glucose levels were independent factors associated with early mortality within two days of the development of hypoglycaemia.

Although several factors were associated with mortality, the degree of hypoglycaemia, absence of diabetes and old age were associated with early mortality. Elderly hypoglycaemic patients, especially those without diabetes, should be closely monitored.