A Prospecive Study on Relationship Between Pre-Operative Hyperglycemia and Post-Operative Complications in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Elective Surgeries

Pre-surgical hyperglycemia has been linked to postoperative complications after surgical procedures. Recent research has shown that hyperglycemia plays a key role in creating postoperative complications. Therefore, HbA1C was highly targeted to determine whether it was an independent factor affecting postoperative complications and associated diseases. However, the target glucose level remains unclear to prevent problems due to abnormal glucose levels. To study pre-operative hyperglycemia with the risk of development of postoperative complications in diabetic patients undergoing elective surgeries by conducting a prospective observational study. 80 patients undergoing a variety of general elective surgical procedures were taken into the study and followed for about 30 days post-surgery for any possible complications. Their Random Blood Sugar (RBS) values were taken preoperatively and postoperatively every 8 hours. And the HbA1C values of the patients were noted before the surgery. The study's primary endpoints were the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs), Delayed Wound Healing (DWH), Pain, and Septic shock. Out of 80 patients, 19 developed hyperglycemia (prevalence = 23.75%). In normoglycemic patients, the infection rate was 15% (6/40) compared to 35% (14/40) in preoperative hyperglycaemic groups. Post-surgical infections are usually common and are expensive. It is a burden to the people who have poor economic status. Chronic abnormal levels of blood glucose in the body impair the healing process of the wound (here, surgical incision) thereby leading to complications. The occurrence of Postoperative complications in diabetic patients is multifactorial. Our study demonstrated an association between the pre-operative glucose control indicated by HbA1C and post-operative complications. However, the size of the sample is the major limitation of this study. The impact of long-term glycemic control and its variation on any postoperative complications could be considered by conducting more efficient studies in the future taking a larger sample size.