Patients with chronic hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels, tend to experience longer hospital lengths of stay, according to a study in Diabetes Care.
Researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston analyzed data from the National Surgical Quality Improvement database and Research Patient Data Registry of the Brigham and Women's Hospital on patients admitted for at least one day for a noncardiac surgery from 2005 to 2010.
Patients with blood sugar levels less than or equal to 6.5 percent or greater than 8 percent had longer average hospital stays than the nondiabetic control group, at 8.3 days, 7.9 days and 5.2 days, respectively.
Researchers suggest the longer length of stay associated with patients with blood sugar levels less than or equal to 6.5 percent may be due to greater severity of comorbidities.
Researchers suggest planning an intervention for diabetic patients with blood sugar levels greater than eight percent may improve surgical outcomes, specifically length of stay.
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