The association between hyperglycemia and the prognosis of acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage

Objective: To evaluate the potential association between the plasma glucose levels and the 90-day prognosis in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH). Methods: Patients with a well-defined diagnosis of sICH admitted within 24h of onset were included. Random plasma glucose at admission and fasting plasma glucose on the following day were measured. Hyperglycemia was defined as a random plasma glucose >= 10 mmol/L or a fasting plasma glucose >= 7 mmol/L. Neurological severity at admission was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Functional outcomes were evaluated using modified Rankin Score (mRS) at three months after onset. Potential correlations between plasma glucose levels and neurological severity or functional outcomes values were assessed on Spearman's correlation analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify whether there were independent risk factors for 90-day outcomes after sICH. Results: 228 consecutive adult patients with a mean age of 62.4 +/- 12.9 years were prospectively enrolled. No significant association was observed between the random glucose levels (r = 0.108, p = 0.146) or fasting glucose levels (r = 0.116, p = 0.098) with functional outcomes at 90 days after discharge. However, hyperglycemia was associated with the neurological severity of sICH, both random glucose levels (r = 0.183, p = 0.009)and fasting glucose levels (r = 0.133, p = 0.045). On logistic regression analyses, age and NIHSS values at admission were independently associated with poor outcomes. Conclusion: Hyperglycemia was associated with neurological severity of sICH, but not with 90-day outcomes.