Hypoglycemia and mortality in sepsis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Hypoglycemia frequently occurs in patients with sepsis. The status of prognosis of sepsis patients varies with the cause of hypoglycemia.A meta-analysis was performed to obtain a reliable basis for assessing the severity of disease in sepsis patients.A search of electronic databases was performed. The random-effects model was employed to calculate the overall odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI.Five cohort studies were included. Decreased blood glucose level was associated with an increased risk of death [OR:1.68; 95% CI (1.12-2.53)]. Incidents of mortality were analyzed based on the causative factor of hypoglycemia. Patients with spontaneous hypoglycemia showed a significantly higher mortality rate than the control subjects[OR 1.65; 95% CI (1.20-2.28); p = 0.002].In the early stages of sepsis, the occurrence of spontaneous hypoglycemia may be associated with the severity of the disease.