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Abstract Disclosure: S. Neupane: None. B. Neupane: None. S. Karki: None. U. Farooq: None. M. Quartuccio: None. Introduction: Numerous studies have been conducted on the differences in racial and ethnic groups' access to healthcare; some groups face greater challenges when it comes to insurance coverage and other healthcare services compared to others. Risk factors that may contribute to hypoglycemia include advanced age, concomitant conditions, aggressive hyperglycemia therapy, etc. Research on racial differences in hypoglycemia is limited. Objective:To investigate potential disparities in mortality rates, length of stay (LOS), and overall hospitalization costs between the white and black populations with the diagnosis of hypoglycemia. Methods: Using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) for the years 2017 through 2020, we carried out a retrospective cohort study of adult patients (age 18) with a primary diagnosis of hypoglycemia. The disease and outcome codes were chosen using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). The analysis was conducted using STATA. Adjusting for potential variables and calculating the adjusted odds ratio(aOR) were done using multivariate regression analysis. The student t-test was utilized to compare continuous variables, while the Fisher exact test was employed to compare proportions. Mortality was the primary outcome of the study; other secondary outcomes included LOS, total hospitalization costs, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), septic shock, pulmonary edema, acute respiratory failure (ARF), mechanical ventilation, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute kidney injury (AKI), and cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). Results: There was a total of 804,164 patients with the diagnosis of hypoglycemia; out of them, 515,264 were white, 200,955 were black, and the rest were from other races besides white and black. Blacks had increased LOS than whites by 0.53 days, (6.92 days vs. 7.87 days, p0.001) and rates of mechanical ventilation (11.96% vs.10.05%, p0.001). There were other significant outcomes in rates of acute coronary syndrome (1.59% vs.1.38%, p0.001), septic shock (10.07% vs. 9.90%, p=0.028), and ARF (16.10% vs. 15.27%, p0.001) on white compared to black population. There was no significant difference in the outcomes of mortality rates, total hospitalization costs, pulmonary edema, ARDS, AKI, and CVA in white compared to black population. Conclusion: In comparison to the black population, the white population had an increase in rates of ACS, septic shock, and ARF. The overall rate of LOS and mechanical ventilation was higher in the black population than in the white population. The rates of mortality, total hospital costs, pulmonary edema, ARDS, AKI, and CVA did not differ between the two groups. To prevent poorer outcomes, more research is needed to understand the pathophysiology and underlying reasons for racial differences in hypoglycemia. Presentation: 6/1/2024
Neupane et al. (Tue,) studied this question.