Hyperglycaemia at admission in acute coronary syndrome patients: prognostic value in diabetics and non-diabetics.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of admission glycaemia on short-term and long-term prognosis in diabetic and non-diabetic patients admitted for acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and to identify the independent predictors of post-ACS mortality in this population.
METHODS: This study included 1149 consecutive patients admitted to a single coronary care unit for ACS between May 2004 and December 2006. Our population was divided into four groups according to the quartiles of glycaemia at admission [Q1 <5.77 mmol/l, Q2 (5.77-7.0) mmol/l, Q3 (7.0-9.22) mmol/l and Q4 > or =9.22 mmol/l]. Diabetic (n = 396) and non-diabetic (n = 753) subgroups were then separately analysed.
RESULTS: Hyperglycaemia at admission was associated with worse cardiovascular risk profile, high levels of necrosis and inflammation biomarkers and low left ventricle ejection fraction. Considering overall population, in-hospital, 30-day and 3-year mortalities were higher in more elevated glycaemia quartiles. In diabetic patients, there were no significant differences in mortality among glycaemia quartiles; however, in non-diabetic group higher admission glucose levels were associated with successively higher in-hospital and 3-year mortalities. After multivariate regression analysis, glycaemia at admission > or =5.77 mmol/l, age > or =72 years, Killip class >1 and troponin I > or =6.0 ng/ml were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that, in a broad ACS population, hyperglycaemia at admission is a short-term and long-term bad prognosis marker, particularly in non-diabetic patients, being a strong independent predictor of in-hospital mortality.