Comparison of perioperative glucose regulation in patients with type 1 vs type 2 diabetes mellitus: A retrospective cross-sectional study

Background Most perioperative diabetes mellitus (DM) guidelines do not distinguish between patients with type 1 (DM1) and type 2 (DM2). We hypothesised that similar treatment of DM1 and DM2 patients leads to differences in their perioperative glucose control. Methods We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study, of all DM patients undergoing surgery between May 2013 and November 2015 in a Dutch university hospital. We compared DM1 with DM2 patients, treated according to the same perioperative glucose protocol. Our primary outcome was the incidence of hyperglycaemia (glucose >= 10 mmol/L). Secondary outcomes were short-term glycaemic control (glucose before surgery and peak glucose perioperatively), long-term glycaemic control (HbA1c in 90 days before and after surgery) and the incidence of hypoglycaemia (glucose <4 mmol/L). Results We included 2259 patients with DM, 216 (10%) of which had DM1. The calculated incidences in our population were 7 out of 1000 patients with DM1 and 69 out of 1000 patients with DM2. Compared to those with DM2, patients with DM1 were younger, had a lower BMI, a higher glucose concentration before surgery, and a higher perioperative peak glucose concentration (11.0 [8.2-14.7] vs 9.4 [7.7-11.7], P < 0.001). The incidence of the primary endpoint, perioperative hyperglycaemia, was significantly higher in DM1 compared to DM2 patients (63% vs 43%, P < 0.001). Hypoglycaemia occurred more often in the DM1 population (7.1% vs 1.3%, P < 0.001). Conclusion Providing similar perioperative treatment to patients with DM1 and DM2 is associated with poorer short-term and long-term glycaemic control in DM1 throughout the perioperative period as well as an increased risk of hypoglycaemia.