Study: Mortality increases in ICU patients with controlled glucose levels

WALTHAM, Mass. Intensive glucose control increased mortality among adults in the intensive care unit, according to a study published Tuesday on the New England Journal of Medicine’s Web site.

A blood glucose target of 180 mg or less per deciliter resulted in lower mortality than did a target of 81 to 108 mg per deciliter.

The findings call into question the optimal target range for blood glucose in critically ill patients, authors suggested. Medicating patients to bring down their blood sugar levels may raise the overall death rate by 10%, according to published reports on the research. Researchers estimated that one in every 38 patients aggressively treated for high blood sugar would die.

The study encompassed 6,104 people in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States — only 20% of the patients included in the study had a history of diabetes.