Patient Understanding of Discharge Instructions for Home Diabetes Self-Management and Risk for Hospital Readmission and Emergency Department Visits.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the patient comprehension of diabetes self-management instructions provided at hospital discharge as an associated risk of readmission.

Methods: Noncritically ill patients with diabetes completed patient comprehension questionnaires (PCQ) within 48 hours of discharge. PCQ scores were compared among patients with and without readmission or emergency department (ED) visits at 30 and 90 days.

The importance of normoglycemia in critically ill patients.

Hyperglycemia is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in acutely ill patients with and without diabetes. One third of all patients admitted to tertiary care facilities have hyperglycemia, with approximately 12% having had no prior history of diabetes. Hyperglycemia adversely affects fluid balance, predisposes to infection, morbidity following acute cardiovascular events, and increases the risk for renal failure, polyneuropathy, and mortality in ICU patients.