GLUCOSE AND SODIUM LEVELS AS DISEASE OUTCOME PREDICTORS IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Clinical Chemistry
• Nephrology

Background:

• Electrolyte and glucose imbalances are common in critically ill patients.
• Understanding these imbalances is crucial for predicting disease outcomes.
• Specific associations between glucose, sodium, and common critical illnesses require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between glucose and sodium levels and the diagnosis and outcomes of critically ill patients.
• To identify potential correlations between these biochemical markers and specific critical conditions like acute kidney injury and sepsis.
• To determine if glucose and sodium levels predict mortality in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of glucose and sodium concentrations in 283 critically ill patients admitted to the ICU.
• Analysis of patient diagnoses, including acute kidney injury and sepsis (with septic shock).
• Statistical analysis to assess the association between glucose/sodium levels and diagnoses, as well as mortality rates, with a focus on age.

Main Results:

• Acute kidney injury was the most common diagnosis (26.1%), associated with significantly lower glucose levels (p=0.02).
• Sepsis and septic shock (22.3%) were linked to significantly higher sodium concentrations (p=0.04).
• Higher glucose levels correlated with increased mortality (p=0.001), particularly in patients over 65, who also showed higher glucose concentrations.

Conclusions:

• Glucose levels are significantly associated with acute kidney injury and mortality in critically ill patients, especially the elderly.
• Sodium levels are elevated in sepsis patients but not significantly linked to survival.
• These findings highlight the importance of monitoring glucose and sodium in critically ill patients for outcome prediction.