• Michal Levmore-Tamir, Giora Weiser, Elihay Berliner, Matityahu Erlichman, Carmit Avnon Ziv, and Floris Levy-Khademi.
• Department of Pediatrics, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
• Isr Med Assoc J. 2020 Jul 1; 7 (22): 365-368.

BackgroundStress hyperglycemia (SH) is a common finding in patients in pediatric emergency departments (PED) and has been related to increased morbidity and mortality.ObjectivesTo assess the incidence of SH among children visiting the PED. To identify which diseases predispose patients to SH and whether they indicate a worse outcome.MethodsData were collected retrospectively from the medical records of all children aged 0-18 years who visited the PED during the years 2010-2014 and who had a glucose level of ≥ 150 mg/dl. Data collected included age, gender, weight, blood glucose level, presence or absence of a pre-existing or a new diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, and previous treatment with medications affecting blood glucose levels or with intravenous fluids containing dextrose. Data were collected regarding hospitalization, duration of hospitalization, discharge diagnosis, and survival status.ResultsThe study population included 1245 children with SH, which comprised 2.6% of all patients whose blood glucose level was measured in the PED during the study period. The mean age of children with SH was 49 months; 709 (56.9%) were male. The mean blood glucose level was 184 mg/dl. The rate of hospitalization was 57.8%. The mean duration of hospital stay was 5.6 days and mortality rate was 0.96%. The majority were diagnosed with a respiratory illness.ConclusionsSH is a common phenomenon among children evaluated in the PED and is associated with a high incidence of hospitalization. It may serve as an additional clinical indicator of disease severity.

36 keywords...

hide…