Risk factors for hypoglycaemia in non-critical hospitalised diabetic patients

Objective

To determine the risk factors for hypoglycaemia in patients with diabetes on general hospital wards based on a systematic review of the literature since 2013 and meta-analysis.

Methods

Systematic review of the literature focused on the conceptual and methodological aspects of the PRISMA Declaration. The search carried out in Pub Med, Web of Science, Medline, Scielo, Lilacs, OVID, grey literature and Google Academic focused on risk factors for hypoglycaemia in patients with diabetes on general hospital wards. The CASPe (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Spanish) tool was applied for quality control.

Results

From 805 references, 70 potentially eligible articles were identified for review of abstracts and full text. Finally, according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, seven studies with 554,601 patients of Asian, European and North American ethnicity were selected.

A meta-analysis performed using the random effects model found an association between the presence of hypoglycaemia and: the use of insulin (OR 2.89 [95% CI: 1.8−4.5]); the use of long-acting insulin (OR 2.27 [95% CI: 1.8−2.8]) or fast-acting insulin (OR 1.4 [95% CI: 1.18−1.85]); nasogastric tube feeding (OR 1.75 [95% CI: 1.33−2.3]); chronic kidney disease (OR 1.65 [95% CI: 1.14−2.38]); congestive heart failure (OR 1.36 [95% CI: 1.10−1.68]); and elevated levels of glycosylated haemoglobin (OR 1.59 [95% CI: 1.32−1.91]).

Conclusion

The factors associated with the risk of hypoglycaemia in non-critically ill hospitalised patients with type 2 diabetes were: use of any insulin; nasogastric tube feeding; elevated glycosylated haemoglobin levels; history of congestive heart failure; and chronic kidney disease.