Patients admitted with sepsis and no history of impaired glucose metabolism were included and divided in the hyperglycemia group (glucose ≥7.8 mmol/L) and normoglycemia group. Severity of sepsis was assessed. Surviving patients without diabetes at discharge were followed-up for 5 years to investigate risk for development of diabetes.
Hyperglycemia was related to severity of sepsis. Follow-up was finished for 55 patients with hyperglycemia, of which 8 (15.7 % ) developed diabetes, and 118 patients with normoglycemia, of which 5 (4.2 % ) developed diabetes (P = .002). Relative risk for developing type 2 diabetes was 4.29 (95 % CI, 1.35-13.64).
Patients with hyperglycemia in sepsis who are not diagnosed with diabetes before or during the hospitalization should be considered a population at increased risk for developing diabetes.