Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia in extremely low-birth-weight infants

Background Glucose metabolism disorders are common in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants and are associated with high morbidity and mortality [1-9]. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors associated with both hypo and hyperglycemia in ELBW infants. Materials and methods All inborn ELBW neonates admitted to our NICU during a 5-year period were eligible for this retrospective analysis. Exclusion criteria were: birth weight (BW) <400 grams, major congenital malformations, death during the first 24 hours of life. Hypoglycemia was defined as blood glucose level (BGL) 6445 mg/dL; hyperglycemia as BGL>240 mg/dL in a single determination or >180 mg/dL in two determinations at 2-hour intervals. Continuous intravenous insulin infusion was started after an ineffective glucose restriction. Results Of 195 ELBW infants, 29 (14.8%) were excluded and 166 (GA 26.7 2.1 weeks, BW 751 152 grams) were analyzed and grouped to their BGL. Normoglycemia was observed in 79 neonates (47.6%) (N-Group); 80 neonates (52.4%) showed abnormal BGL: 21 (12.7%) were hypoglycemic (Hypo-Group), 53 (31.9%) hyperglycemic (Hyper-Group) and 13 (7.8%) showed both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia (Hypo&Hyper-Group). Clinical characteristics of the groups are reported in Table 1. Hypo-Group respect to N-Group showed a higher rate of small for gestational age (SGA) neonates (p=0.03). Hyper-Group in comparison to N-Group showed a tendency toward a lower GA (p=0.05), lower BW (p<0.001), higher sepsis rate (p<0.001), higher rate of treatment with inotropic agents (p=0.02), corticosteroids (p=0.006) and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (p=0.01). Hypo&Hyper-Group respect to N-Group showed similar GA, lower BW (p<0.001), higher sepsis rate (p