Association of admission blood glucose level and clinical outcomes in elderly community‐acquired pneumonia patients with or without diabetes

Community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the major cause of infection‐related mortality worldwide. Patients with CAP frequently present with admission hyperglycemia. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between admission blood glucose (ABG) level and clinical outcomes in elderly CAP patients (≥80 years of age) with or without diabetes. Methods In this single center retrospective study, 290 elderly patients diagnosed with CAP were included. Demographic and clinical information were collected and compared. The associations between admission blood glucose level and the 30‐day mortality as well as intensive care unit (ICU) admission and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in elderly CAP patients with or without diabetes were assessed. Results Of the 290 eligible patients with CAP, 159 (66.5%) patients were male, and 64 (22.1%) had a known history of diabetes at hospital admission. After adjusting for age and sex, the logistic regression analysis had identified several risk factors that might be associated with clinical outcomes in elderly patients with CAP. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that admission glucose level > 11.1 mmol/L was significant associated with ICU admission, IMV, and 30‐day mortality both in non‐diabetic and diabetic patients. Furthermore, Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that patients with higher admission glucose level were correlated statistically significantly with 30‐day mortality in patients with CAP ( P  < 0.001). Conclusion Admission blood glucose is correlated with 30‐day hospital mortality, ICU admission, and IMV of CAP in elderly patients with and without diabetes. Specially, admission glucose > 11.1 mmol/L was a significant risk factor for 30‐day hospital mortality.