Glucose metabolism disorders and hypoglycemic therapy in patients hospitalized for elective lower limb arthroplasty: a prospective, single-center, real-world study

Abstract

Aim. To assess the incidence of glucose metabolism disorders, administered hypoglycemic therapy and its effectiveness in a cohort of patients with previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) hospitalized for scheduled lower limb joint arthroplasty. Materials and methods. The study included 502 patients. Medical history, information about previously diagnosed DM and prescribed hypoglycemic therapy were collected in all patients according to medical documentation, as well as according to the patients’ survey. Within the preoperative examination, the glucose level was measured, and in patients with previously diagnosed diabetes, measuremaent of the HbA1c level was recommended. Results. The study population included 180 (35.9%) males and 322 females (64.1%). Among them, 99 (19.7%) patients had disorders of glucose metabolism [type 1 diabetes – 1 (0.2%) patient, type 2 diabetes – 90 (17.9%) patients, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) – 8 (1.6%) patients]. In 8 patients, type 2 diabetes was newly diagnosed during the preoperative examination. HbA1c was measured before hospitalization in 26 patients with diabetes, the mean level was 7.0±1.4%. Regarding the analysis of hypoglycemic therapy, almost half of the patients with DM – 47 (47.5%) – received metformin monotherapy, 8 patients with IGT and 8 patients with newly diagnosed DM did not receive any drug therapy. Target glycemic levels during therapy were achieved in 36 (36.4%) patients, and target HbA1c levels were achieved in 21 patients. Conclusion. The cohort of patients hospitalized for elective lower limb joint arthroplasty is characterized by a relatively high incidence of glucose metabolism disorders, and in some patients, DM was newly diagnosed during the preoperative examination. Metformin is most often used as hypoglycemic therapy, and the target values of glycemia during treatment were achieved in less than half of the patients. The monitoring of the level of glycated hemoglobin is low and requires additional population analysis in order to determine the causes and optimize the strategy of patient management.