Washington:A new study has found that patients suffering from diabetes who have good control of blood glucose levels before having surgery may be less likely to have infections after their procedures.
The study, by a team of researchers led by Annika S. Dronge, M D, Yale University School of Medicine, West Haven, Connecticut, examined the relationship between glycemic (blood sugar) control and postoperative infections.
The study was conducted on a team of 490 diabetic patients, all of whom underwent major no cardiac surgery between January 1, 2000, and September 30, 2003.
As a part of the research, the patients had their hemoglobin (Hb A1c) levels, that reflects the patient's control of blood glucose levels over the previous two to three months, measured within 180 days prior to surgery with an Hb A1c level of less than seven per cent defined as good glycemic control.
The study found that patients who did not have good glycemic control had higher rates of infectious complications after surgery, as did those who were older, had higher scores on physical status tests, had wounds that were classified as "nonclean" or had operations that took longer.
The authors said that the study confirmed an association between tight preoperative glucose control, as indicated by Hb A1c levels less than seven per cent, and a decreased risk of postoperative infections across a spectrum of surgical cases.
"In conclusion, this study confirmed an association between tight preoperative glucose control, as indicated by Hb A1c levels less than seven per cent, and a decreased risk of postoperative infections across a spectrum of surgical cases.
If the association is confirmed in other studies, strategies to improve glycemic control prior to elective surgery can be employed to decrease infections and improve overall outcomes for diabetic surgical patients," the Jama quoted them, as stating.
The study was published in the April issues of Archives of Surgery, one of the Jama/Archives journals.
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