Association of poor glycemic control with prolonged hospital stay in patients with diabetes admitted with exacerbation of congestive heart failure.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a relationship between the control of blood glucose levels and the severity of congestive heart failure (CHF) in a retrospective review of medical records of patients with diabetes admitted with acute exacerbation of CHF and to assess the potential correlation between the number of days of hospitalization and the baseline and in-hospital glycemic status. METHODS: Medical records were reviewed to identify patients with diabetes admitted to a tertiary care center with exacerbation of CHF. Patients in whom any new complications developed that could have prolonged the hospitalization were excluded from the study. The number of days of hospitalization attributable to CHF were noted and statistically correlated with the glycemic control. RESULTS: Data on 100 patients included in the study are presented. The duration of hospitalization ranged from 1 day to 2 weeks (mean, 4.79 +/- 3.03 days). The in-hospital glycemic control strongly correlated positively with the number of days of hospitalization (r = 0.499; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.325 to 0.643). The admission blood glucose level also showed a strong positive correlation with the days of hospitalization (r = 0.587; 95% CI, 0.426 to 0.720). The mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) correlated positively with the number of days in the hospital (r = 0.653; 95% CI, 0.508 to 0.764). The 51 patients with uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c >7%) were hospitalized for a mean period of 6.3 +/- 3.2 days, in comparison with a mean duration of 3.2 +/- 1.9 days for the 49 patients with good outpatient glycemic control (HbA1c < or =7%). CONCLUSION: Patients with diabetes admitted with exacerbation of CHF who have poor baseline or in-hospital glycemic control have a prolonged hospitalization.