Publication Date:
2006-11-16
Description:
Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who receive therapy for their disease are at significant risk for infections. One risk factor for infections is hyperglycemia which can often be observed in medically ill patients. In post-operative critically ill patients, intensive insulin therapy has been shown to reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections. (Van den Berghe, 2001) In one study of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hyperglycemia during induction therapy was associated with more infections and shorter disease free survival. (Weiser, 2004) We hypothesized that hyperglycemia is associated with worse outcomes in AML due to increased incidence and severity of infectious complications. We performed a retrospective cohort study to determine if there was an association between hyperglycemia and hospital mortality in hospitalized patients with AML. Four-hundred and sixty-four adult patients were identified through a search of our administrative databases as having the diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia over a three year period. These individuals experienced 1,004 admissions to the hospital. The occurrence of increasing hyperglycemia, defined as the proportion of glucose assessments above normal (〉110 mg/dL), during all hospital days was associated with increased odds of hospital mortality [OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.13–1.36, p
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
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