Clinical and laboratory correlates of excessive and persistent blood glucose elevation during cardiac surgery in nondiabetic patients: a retrospective study.

Background: Hyperglycemia during cardiac surgery in nondiabetic patients is a common finding associated with increased morbidity and mortality, but its predictors have not been studied to date.

Methods: To identify clinical and laboratory correlates of excessive and persistent blood glucose (BG) elevation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in nondiabetic patients, the authors reviewed 195 medical records. After exclusion of patients with preoperative BG >120 mg/dL and with missing preoperative BG data, 163 cases were included in the final analysis.