Is hyperglycemia a risk factor for neonatal morbidity and mortality?

Objective: To determine the extent of morbidity and mortality in newborns with neonatal hyperglycemia where published data are limited. Study Design: Observational case control study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Neonatology, the Children'Hospital and the Institute of Child Health Lahore, from 1st May to 31st Oct 2015. Material and Methods: A prospective, observational case control study was conducted in the Department of Neonatology, the Children'Hospital and the Institute of Child Health, Lahore, from 1st May till 31st October 2015. The sample size was 192, with 96 babies each in 'study' and 'control' groups. All neonates fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the 'study group' while 'control group' consisted of euglycemic babies matched for age, weight, gestational age and clinical status. All babies were monitored for morbidity intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), infections and outcome (duration of hospital stay, discharged or expired). Results: The data analysis showed that 74 percent neonates, of study group, had hyperglycemia during first week of their lives. Moreover, 84.4 percent babies were less than 2.5 kg. Significant high number of babies in the study group developed complications (p<0.001). These complications included IVH (p<0.001), NEC (p=0.024) and infections (p=0.019). As regards outcome, the neonates in the study group had significantly prolonged hospital stay (p=0.028), lower discharge rate (p=0.040) and higher mortality (p=0.040). Conclusion: Hyperglycemia not only significantly increases risk of IVH, NEC and infections, but also prolongs hospital stay and contributes to mortality among newborns. (author)