• Suzanne Morrison, John O'Donnell, Dianxu Ren, and Richard Henker.
• AANA J. 2014 Dec 1;82(6):427-30.

AbstractThis article discusses the glucose monitoring and treatment practices of a small community hospital and aims to determine how these practices relate to postoperative complications in patients undergoing vascular surgery. Previous studies in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery have demonstrated that glucose control directly affects outcomes, including length of stay and incidence of infection, stroke, renal failure, myocardial infarction, and readmissions within 30 days of the initial surgery. A retrospective analysis of 101 patients who underwent vascular surgery was performed. After informed consent was obtained, patient charts were reviewed. Perioperative blood glucose levels, frequency of monitoring, treatment practices, and postoperative complications were collected by review of both electronic and paper medical records. Twenty-seven of the 101 patients had a blood glucose level greater than 140 mg/dL preoperatively. Intraoperative blood glucose levels were monitored for 8 patients. Nine patients had blood glucose levels treated during the perioperative period. The threshold for treatment of preoperative hyperglycemia was a blood glucose level of 236 mg/dL. Increased vigilance of perioperative blood glucose levels is needed so that appropriate interventions can be instituted and outcomes improved. Glucometers must be readily available to anesthesia providers so that intraoperative monitoring of blood glucose levels can occur.

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