Recent studies suggest that patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) frequently develop hyperglycemia, which has been linked to adverse outcomes.

We retrospectively collected information about patient demographics, admission diagnosis, comorbidities, use of insulin, and glucose levels and related tests in 174 patients who required mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure.

These patients had a mean age of 57.8 ± 16.8 years, a mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) score of 13.8 ± 6.1, and an overall mortality of 32.2%. The mean number of ventilator days was 7.5 ± 7.1. The mean highest glucose level was 239.3 ± 88.9 mg/dL in patients with COPD (n = 41) and 259.1 ± 131.7 mg/dL in patients without COPD (n =133). Patients with diabetes had higher glucose levels than patients without this diagnosis (P < .05). Patients receiving corticosteroids did not have increased glucose levels (P > .05). The mortality rate was higher in patients with glucose levels >140 mg/dL than in patients below 140 mg/dL (35.1% vs 10.5%, P < .05 unadjusted analysis).

In this study, hyperglycemia occurred in 89% of the patients with acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. The most important risk factor for this was a premorbid diagnosis of diabetes.