[Prognostic value of hospital hypoglycemia]

Hospital hypoglycemia (HH) is an important problem since it is linked to hospital death, prolonged stay and higher costs, both in people with and without diabetes, in the critical area and general ward, especially in cases of severe hypoglycemia. The objective of our work was to compare hospital mortality, transfer to the critical area and hospitalization periods in adults with HH according to its severity.

We conducted a retrospective cohort of adults hospitalized with hypoglycemia at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires between 2013 and 2018. Three groups of hypoglycemia were defined: mild (glycemia between 70 and 54 mg/dl), severe (glycemia < 54 mg/dl and = 40 mg/dl) and critical (glycemia < 40mg/dl).

A total of 5994 patients had HH, the majority presented mild hypoglycemia (72%). Severe and critical hypoglycemia, compared with mild hypoglycemia, were associated with higher mortality: OR 2.6 (95%CI 2.2-3.1) and 4.2 (95%CI 3.5-5.0) respectively; and increased hospitalization in critical care areas: OR 1.6 (95%CI 1.4-1.9) and 3.2 (95%CI 2.6-4.0) respectively. There were no differences in length of stay.

This information provides, in our country, evidence on the prognostic value of hypoglycemia, whose greater severity is associated with increased hospitalization in critical areas and higher hospital mortality.