Glycemic Management of Patients with Hospital Hyperglycemia: A Retrospective Cohort Study on Adults Admitted in the Non-ICU Wards.

Purpose: To identify the key populations for Hospital Hyperglycemia (HH) management and to assess recent trends in the management of HH.

Patients and methods: This retrospective study analyzed 1,136,092 point-of-care blood glucose (POC-BG) measurements from 40,758 patients with HH in non-intensive care unit (non-ICU) wards at Ningbo No.2 hospital from January 2020 to December 2022. We compared glucose monitoring and management across varying years, age groups, and hospital departments.

Results: The overall incidence of HH was 16.87%. From 2020 to 2022, the number of patients with HH increased from 9,893 to 15,639, accompanied by a marginal improvement in average BG levels (slope difference, -8.137E-09 [CI, -8.742E-09 to -7.531E-09]; p <0.001). In the ≥80 years group, the median BG was 9.4 mmol/L, significantly higher than in other age groups (p<0.001). Hypoglycemia in this group was most frequently detected during nighttime and bedtime, with an incidence of 2.67%, significantly higher than at other times of the day (p<0.001). The daily POC-BG testing rate was significantly higher in the medical ward group than it in the surgical ward group (57.9% vs 51.7%, p<0.05). Proportions of glycemic targets days were 35.66% and 39.90% in the medical wards on day 1 and day 7, respectively (Day 7 39.90% vs Day 1 35.66%, p>0.05), and 46.16% and 45.07% in the surgical wards (Day 7 45.07% vs Day 1 46.16%, p>0.05), showing no significant improvements in glycemic control. Endocrinology consultations occurred at rates of 14.2% in the medical wards and 14.9% in the surgical wards (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Although the prevalence of HH is consistently high and the number of affected patients continues to rise, modest improvements in glycemic management have been observed. However, control among the elderly remains poor, with a notably high risk of hypoglycemia during nighttime and bedtime periods.