Introduction: Dysglycaemia is an abnormal blood glucose concentration. It is not uncommon in acutely ill children and could lead to significant preventable complications. This study evaluates its determinants and outcome in a children emergency ward.
Method: The study was carried out at the Children Emergency Unit of Teaching Hospital, Osogbo. One hundred and one consecutive ill children, aged one month to 14 years were studied. At admission, blood glucose was determined. Patients were managed and followed up to determine duration of hospital admission and immediate outcomes.
Result: 56 (55.4%) were males and 45 (44.6%) were females, giving a male: female ratio of 1.24: 1. The mean ages of the patients was 40.83 (3.65) months. The blood glucose of the patients ranged from 1.60 to 10.20mmol/L with a mean of 5.19 (1.42) mmol/L. Eleven (10.9%) of the patients had dysglycaemia comprising 3 (27.3%) with hypoglycaemia and 8 (72.7%) with hyperglycaemia. The remaining 90 (89.1%) patients had normoglycaemia. Of the 3 patients with hypoglycaemia, severe malaria was the commonest diagnosis, while respiratory infection was the commonest among the 8 patients with hyperglycaemia. The mean duration of admission was longest among patients with hyperglycaemia. Four (4.5%) of the 90 patients with normoglycaemia had varying complications, the outcome is worse in patients with hypoglycaemia compared to those with normoglycaemia (p= 0.012).
Conclusion: In conclusion, dysglycaemia occurred among acutely ill children with prevalence of 10.9%. Worsening morbidity could be associated with dysglycaemia. There was apparent poorer outcome in patients with hypoglycaemia.