Preoperative Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia Are Related to Postoperative Infection Rates in Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction.

Diabetic patients undergoing surgery are known to have a higher risk for infection. However, current literature does not adequately investigate the effects of preoperative hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia on postoperative infection risk. A retrospective review of a national private payer database within the PearlDiver Supercomputer application (Warsaw, IN) for patients undergoing breast reconstruction with implant/expander (BR) was conducted. These patients were identified by Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and International Classification of Disease (ICD-9) ninth revision codes. Glucose ranges were identified by filtering for Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes ranging from 25 to 219 mg/dL, in 15 mg/mL increments. Patients with preexisting diabetes diagnoses were excluded. These patients were longitudinally tracked for infection at the 90 d and 1-y postoperative period using ICD-9 codes. The search query yielded 13,237 BR procedures with preoperative glycemic levels ranging from 25 to 219 mg/mL. Most procedures (34.6%) were performed on patients with preoperative glycemic levels ranging from 70 to 99 mg/dL. Of the total procedures performed (n = 13,237), 19.4% (n = 2564) resulted in infections documented at the 90-d interval, and 24.8% (n = 3285) resulted in infections documented at the 1-y interval. BR patients within the 40-54 mg/dL range had the highest rate of infection (90 d: 30.1%; 1 y: 53.4%). There was a statistically higher incidence of infection among patients with preoperative hypoglycemia (<70 mg/dL). The incidence of infection remains high in preoperatively hyperglycemic patients undergoing breast reconstruction procedures. However, our results show that preoperatively hypoglycemic patients also have an increased incidence of infection.

The Journal of surgical research. 2018 Dec;232():437-441.

ISSN 1095-8673

Authors: Tsun Yee Law, Ellie Moeller, Zachary S Hubbard, Samuel Rosas, Anthony Andreoni, Harvey W Chim

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PMID 30463754

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