Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) on admission has been suggested as a predictor of glycemic control in the hospital. However, no studies have examined the interaction of pre-admission patient characteristics (i.e., complexity of home regimen or diabetes duration) and HbA1c on inpatient glycemic control. We pooled data from eight randomized controlled trials of patients assigned to a standardized basal-bolus insulin regimen in the hospital. Patients were categorized according to: A) increasing home regimen complexity [group 1: diet alone or ≤1 oral antihyperglycemic drugs (OADs) (n=338, 39%); group 2: two or more OADs (n=177, 20%); and group 3: insulin based regimens (n=356, 41%) and B) admission HbA1c categories (<7%, 7-9%, or >9%). Logistic regression models adjusting for age, gender, BMI, admission BG, and hospital service (medicine vs. surgery) were constructed to determine associations between home regimen complexity, diabetes duration, HbA1c and inpatient glycemic control. Compared to patients treated at home with OADs, patients using insulin had a longer duration of diabetes and higher admission HbA1c (both p<0.001). Compared to group 1 (reference), patients on insulin were less likely to achieve target glycemic control (mean BG 70-180 mg/dl without hypoglycemia) regardless of admission HbA1c [HbA1c <7% adjusted odd ratio (aOR) 0.36 (0.16, 0.81); HbA1c 7-9% aOR 0.5 (0.30, 0.91), or HbA1c >9% aOR 0.44 (0.24, 0.83), and had higher risk for hypoglycemia (all p<0.05). Patients with a longer duration of diabetes (>10 years) were less likely to achieve good glycemic control compared to patients with shorter duration of diabetes irrespective of home regimen complexity. Though admission HbA1c has been proposed as a predictor of inpatient glycemic control, our data show patients requiring complex therapy with insulin at home are less likely to achieve inpatient glucose targets independent of admission HbA1c.
M.A. Urrutia: None. Y. Guo: None. M. Fayfman: None. P. Vellanki: Consultant; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. R.J. Galindo: Advisory Panel; Self; Lilly Diabetes. Consultant; Self; Valeritas, Inc. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc. Other Relationship; Self; UpToDate. A. Migdal: None. G. Davis: None. I. Anzola: None. B.S. Albury: None. M.F. Scioscia: None. K.W. Zamudio: None. G.E. Umpierrez: None. F.J. Pasquel: Advisory Panel; Self; AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. Research Support; Self; Dexcom, Inc., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., National Institutes of Health.
