Maintenance of Normoglycemia May Improve Outcome in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Several studies have shown that high admission glucose is associated with poor outcomes after stroke, but the impact of maintenance of normoglycemia on functional outcome during hospitalization for acute ischemic stroke is less well established.

The aim of this study was to examine the independent association of postadmission glycemic status in the 1^st week with 3-month functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted within 48 h of symptom onset with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) of ≥4 were selected from a prospectively maintained database by chart review. Demographic data, risk factors, NIHSS, and blood glucose values in the 1^st week were collected. The primary outcome was Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 3 months (good outcome-mRS ≤2).

Over 3 years, 342 patients were enrolled with 220 (64.32%) males. Mean age was 60.5 ± 13.4 years, and median admission score on NIHSS was 10 (interquartile range: 6-16). Blood glucose values persistently <140 mg/dl in the 1^st week were associated with a good 3-month functional outcome in univariate analysis (P = 0.036). Hypoglycemic episodes occurred only in 11 (3.22%) patients.

Blood glucose values persistently below 140 mg/dl in the 1^st week after acute ischemic stroke were associated with a favorable outcome in our study. Future clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.