A study by the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona has revealed that patients with a higher than usual level of glucose (blood sugar) at the time of hospital admission for ischemic stroke have a worse functional prognosisthe hospital said in a statement.
The research, published in ‘Cardiovascular Diabetology’, concludes that having higher blood sugar levels “substantially” increases the risk of a poor prognosis or to die after 3 months of stroke.
Ischemic stroke is a cerebrovascular accident consisting of a blood clot which prevents blood from flowing to the brain, causing the brain’s cells to die in a matter of minutes.
Researchers have analyzed data from 2,774 patients relating to their blood sugar levels and other variables such as age, diabetes, disability, the severity of the stroke suffered and the treatment received.
The study estimates that an increase of 10% in blood glucose level Compared to the usual rate, the chance of having a poor prognosis increases by 7% and the chance of dying within 3 months of suffering the stroke increases by 10%.
It also notes that, in the case of patients with higher levels, the risk of a poor prognosis increases up to 62%, and The mortality rate grows by 88%.
The study considers that high blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia) are a factor of worse functional prognosis and mortality after 3 months, “independently” of the rest of the variables.
Hospital del Mar researcher, Elisenda Clementexplained that “this variable better reflects the effect of sugar at the time of the patient’s admission, and in the group of patients with higher rates, there is a worse prognosis and mortality.”
The head of the Stroke section of the Neurology Service at Hospital del Mar, Ana Rodriguezexplained that they do not currently treat sugar aggressively in ischemic stroke patients. “Our study may allow us to select the population in which we can work more intensively.”
The researcher from Hospital del Mar, Juan Jose Chillaronhas specified that this subgroup of patients could benefit from more intensive insulin therapy, which he considers a “potential conceptual change in its approach.”
The study involved experts from Hospital del Mar, the Ricors-Ictus network and the Biomedical Research Centre for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases (Ciberdem), who agree that they will continue researching to determine the usefulness of patients’ blood glucose levels in improving their prognosis.
