858
Views
45
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Stroke in diabetic and non‐diabetic patients: Course and prognostic value of admission serum glucose

, , , &
Pages 357-364 | Received 27 Jan 2005, Accepted 11 Apr 2005, Published online: 08 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Background, Aims. Whether diabetes mellitus affects the prognosis of stroke patients, and whether admission hyperglycemia influences prognosis similarly in diabetic as in non‐diabetic patients is assessed controversially. The aims of the study were: 1) to compare the course of diabetic and non‐diabetic acute stroke patients, and 2) to assess the influence of admission serum glucose levels on case fatality.

Methods. In 57 Austrian medical departments the hospital course of consecutive stroke patients was documented prospectively between June 1999 and October 2000.

Results. Two hundred and ninety‐six (30%) of 992 patients had a history of diabetes mellitus. Intracerebral hemorrhage was more frequent in non‐diabetic patients than diabetic (13% versus 5%, P = 0.0001). Coronary heart disease was more frequent in diabetic than in non‐diabetic patients (35% versus 24%, P = 0.0003). The case fatality was 18% among non‐diabetic and 16% among diabetic patients (P = 0.3559). Among patients who were discharged alive, the Barthel Index increased from 50 to 90 in non‐diabetic and from 45 to 75 in diabetic patients (P = 0.0403). In non‐diabetic patients, admission serum glucose>9.2 mmol/L was associated with a more than 4‐fold increase in case fatality, compared with patients with serum glucose<5.7 mmol/L (P<0.0001).

Conclusions. Diabetic stroke patients need special care since they tend to have a poorer recovery than non‐diabetic patients. Admission hyperglycemia in non‐diabetic acute stroke patients predicts a poor prognosis.

Abbreviations
AF=

atrial fibrillation

BI=

Barthel Index

CAD=

coronary artery disease

Hyp=

arterial hypertension

ICH=

intracerebral hemorrhage

NIHSS=

National Institute of Health Stroke Scale

RS=

Rankin scale

Abbreviations
AF=

atrial fibrillation

BI=

Barthel Index

CAD=

coronary artery disease

Hyp=

arterial hypertension

ICH=

intracerebral hemorrhage

NIHSS=

National Institute of Health Stroke Scale

RS=

Rankin scale

Acknowledgement

The study was supported by the Working Group for Cerebrovascular Diseases of the Austrian Cardiologic Society.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.