Pre-admission Hyperglycemia and Its Effect on Morbidity and Mortality

It is currently standard of care in many Medical and Surgical ICU's to institute a nurse driven insulin protocol in maintaining tight glucose control in the critical patient. Many articles have been written to address this topic. However, there is no current data regarding the use of glycohemoglobin as a marker of risk of morbidity and mortality. In our study we would like to determine whether or not the HbA1C could be used as a marker of morbidity and mortality. The HbA1C is a simple blood test that may be added on to any CBC collection tube; a blood sample that critical patients have drawn up to several times a day. The investigators would analyze this information in respect to the rest of the clinical data collected regarding the patient's illness.