The relationship between spontaneous admission hypoglycemia and mortality in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia is unclear.
From 2000 to 2002, clinical data were prospectively collected on all patients with community-acquired pneumonia who were admitted to all 6 hospitals in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Patients with admission glucose greater than 6.1 mmol/L (n=1996) were excluded; the remaining patients were categorized as having admission hypoglycemia (.4 for interaction).
In a population-based sample of patients with community-acquired pneumonia, spontaneous admission hypoglycemia was independently associated with increased mortality during hospitalization that persisted to 1 year. Patients with hypoglycemia are an easily identified group that may warrant more intensive inpatient and postdischarge follow-up.