Patterns of Hyperglycemia in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus With or Without Hypertension, Requiring Emergency Care and Hospitalization

Abstract

Background: Hyperglycemia is treatable and preventative cause of both microvascular and macrovascular complications in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Hyperglycemia is unequivocally associated with poor outcomes especially in hospitalized patients. The aim of this study therefore is to measure the occurrence of hyperglycemic events particularly in patients with T2DM requiring acute care and subsequent hospitalization with or without hypertension and describe the epidemiological features. Methods: An incident case study design was used, i.e. adult patients (greater-than or equal to 18 years) with hyperglycemia presenting to the accident and emergency department (AED) of a tertiary teaching hospital from 2011 to 2013 were recruited for the study. Results: Overall, 350 participants satisfied the criteria for entry into the study. All 350 patients were available for analysis. The pattern of hyperglycemia was predominantly among women, younger rather than older adults, and was a significant association with duration of diabetes and also a significant temporal association. Conclusions: The patterns shown in the research indicated that hyperglycemia is a concern particularly for the over 40 years old East Indian cohort of the population and as a result programs and initiatives should be directed to this group in order to make a meaningful impact as we seek to reduce the burdens associated with this condition. J Endocrinol Metab. 2015;5(5):291-298 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jem313w