Prognostic Value of Serum Glucose Level in Septic Children in PICU

Abstract

Introduction

Sepsis is a potentially fatal illness brought on by a dysregulated host response to infection. Pediatric sepsis has a high death rate of about 11 % in high income countries. Higher  mortality,  increased requirement for breathing and inotropic support all are linked to hypoglycemia. This study is aimed to determine the prognostic value of serum glucose level in sepsis children in PICU.

Methods

This retrospective study was performed in the PICU of Kanti Children’s Hospital with diagnosis of Sepsis based on clinical and laboratory parameters admitted to the PICU between April 13th and September 17th 2024 with age ranging from 1 month to 14 years. Medical records of those patients were analyzed. The outcome of sepsis in the form of discharge or death during the hospital stay, length of hospital stay, use of ionotropic support, mechanical ventilation and blood sugar level were tabulated and the data analysis was done by SPSS version 21.

Results

Out of a total of 53 patients included 21 were male and 22 were female with male to female ratio of 1.4. The mean age of presentation was 41.97 months. The mean length of PICU stay was 4.64 days. There was no statistical difference in the length of PICU stay (p-value 0.548), use of ionotropic support(p value 1) and  septic shock(p value 1) in patients with hypoglycemia. However, abnormal blood glucose was significantly associated with mortality (p value 0.009) and use of mechanical ventilator (p value 0.09).

Conclusion

In conclusion, our study highlights that hypoglycemia in pediatric sepsis is significantly associated with increased mortality and a greater need for mechanical ventilation.  However, no significant relationship was observed between dysglycemia and the length of PICU stay and ionotropic support.