Prevalence and impact of hyperglycemia on hospitalized leukemia patients.

PURPOSE

Hyperglycemia is a common phenomenon in hospitalized patients and has been associated with poor clinical outcomes. Hyperglycemia was defined as a fasting blood glucose ≥126 mg/dL. In cancer patients' hyperglycemia has been associated with impacting diagnostic imaging studies; facilitating the development of and progression of cancers, and influencing response to treatment. Little is known about the impact of hyperglycemia on clinical outcomes such as: neutropenia, infection and hospital length of stay in hospitalized patients with leukemia. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of hyperglycemia on the following clinical outcomes: neutropenia, infection and hospital length of stay.

METHODS

This retrospective study examined the prevalence and impact of hyperglycemia on clinical outcomes in this vulnerable population.

RESULTS

In this sample of 42 hospitalized patients with leukemia, 60% had at least one incidence of hyperglycemia. Patients with hyperglycemia were 1.6 times more likely (p < 0.01) to experience neutropenia than those without hyperglycemia. However, no difference was noted between those with and without hyperglycemia and risk for infection (p = 0.23). Hospital length of stay was significantly longer in patients with hyperglycemia (2 days versus 15 days; p < 0.001) than those without hyperglycemia.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings from this study provide preliminary evidence demonstrating hyperglycemia in the leukemia patient is common and has detrimental effects on clinical outcomes. Understanding the impact of hyperglycemia will inform interventions to mitigate its consequences and improve quality of life for patients with leukemia.