Hyperglycemia in patients with combat injuries

Abstract

Aim. To investigate the prevalence and some aspects of the carbohydrate metabolism pathology in patients with combat limb injuries. Materials and methods. 210 patients who suffered from combat injuries of the lower and/or upper extremities from 4 to 58 days (mean 15.9±8.7 days) before admission to the hospital were enrolled in the study. All study participants were men. The mean age of the patients was 36.0±8.4 years (19–59 years). Fasting venous blood glucose concentrations were determined in all patients. Patients with hyperglycemia underwent a study of the glycemic profile and HbA1c. Stress-induced hyperglycemia, estimated mean glucose level over the past 3 months (ADAG), and glycemic gap were calculated. Insulin in fasting blood plasma was determined and the HOMA-IR insulin resistance index was calculated. Results. The incidence of hyperglycemia was 23.3%. In the general group of patients, the mean glucose concentration was 5.5±1.0 mmol/l (3.1–9.73 mmol/l). In the group of patients with hyperglycemia, the mean blood glucose level reached 6.7±0.9 mmol/l, in patients with normal glucose concentration – 5.1±0.5 mmol/l (p<0.000001). The mean fasting blood glucose concentration in patients aged 40 years and older reached 5.7±1.1 mmol/l, those under 40 years old – 5.2±0.8 mmol/l (p=0.005). A significant direct correlation was registered between the fasting glucose level upon admission to the hospital and the age of the patients (r=0.26; p=0.00003). The relative risk of hyperglycemia in patients aged 40 years and older was 1.84 (confidence interval 1.005–3.37; p=0.01). The mean time elapsed since injury in patients with hyperglycemia reached 13.2±5.7 days, with normal glucose concentration – 16.7±9.2 days (p=0.02). Patients with hyperglycemia had lower levels of total protein (58.3±10.2 and 62.1±6.9 g/l, respectively; p=0.004), albumin (31.2±4.6 and 33.2±4.9 g/l; p=0.04), hemoglobin (97.7±18.9 and 105.9±16.9 g/l; p=0.004), but higher levels of C-reactive protein (61.0±55.4 and 32.9±38.1 mg/l; p=0.0001), leukocytes (10.6±4.4 and 9.3±3.4×109/l; p=0.02), count of neutrophils (7.8±4.3 and 6.4±2.9×109/l; p=0.01), proportion of neutrophils (71.6±9.6% and 67.7±7.7%; p=0.004), as well as fibrinogen concentration (5.7±1.4 and 4.8±1.2 g/l; p=0.0002) than patients with normal blood glucose levels. In patients with hyperglycemia, the mean HbA1c level was 5.3±0.6%, stress-induced hyperglycemia – 1.4±0.2 mmol/l. The median glycemic gap reached 1.51 mmol/l (Q1–Q3: 0.88–2.1 mmol/l). The median insulin concentration was 12.9 µIU/ml (Q1–Q3: 9.2–27.0 µIU/ml), the insulin resistance index was 3.3 (Q1–Q3: 2.1–8.8). The mean fasting blood glucose concentration at the last determination in patients with initial hyperglycemia reached 5.8±1.3 mmol/l. During observation, in 64.6% of the patients with hyperglycemia upon admission, glucose levels returned to normal, while in 35.4% mild hyperglycemia remained. The median time to normalization of fasting blood glucose concentration or to the last determination of this indicator was 17.5 days (Q1–Q3: 8–30 days). Conclusions. The study results indicate a frequent detection of hyperglycemia in patients with combat limb injuries. In most cases the increase in fasting glucose levels is small and in most patients this indicator returns to normal within a relatively short time. It is necessary to continue research of stress-induced hyperglycemia in the patients with combat injuries and to elucidate the pathogenetic basis of this pathology.

Keywords

• glucose
• hyperglycemia
• stress-induced hyperglycemia
• glycated hemoglobin