Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia is one of the most common comorbidities in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). This study aimed to assess the impact of short-term longitudinal blood glucose level change trajectories on the 30-day mortality risk in patients with AIS. METHODS: Data for AIS patients were obtained from the 2001-2019 Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) database. The latent growth mixture modeling (LGMM) was utilized to classify a patient's blood glucose level trajectory within 24 h of admission. Cox regression analyses were applied to examine the relationship between blood glucose levels at admission and blood glucose level trajectories and the risk of 30-day mortality in patients with AIS. RESULTS: A total of 2,432 patients with AIS were included in this retrospective cohort study, with 30-day mortality occurring in 574 (23.60%) patients. The median glucose levels of all patients were 136.00 (110.00, 178.00) mg/dL. Four blood glucose level trajectories were identified: low level-stable trend (type 1), moderate level-stable trend (type 2), high level-decreasing-increasing trend (type 3), and moderate level-increasing-decreasing trend (type 4). Type 2 blood glucose level trajectory was associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality compared with type 1 blood glucose level trajectory [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.59), but there were no significant associations between type 3 (HR = 1.16, 95%CI: 0.77-1.74) and type 4 (HR = 1.44, 95%CI: 0.84-2.45) trajectories and 30-day mortality risk. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the association between type 2 trajectory and 30-day mortality risk was observed in patients aged ≥ 65 years (HR = 1.37, 95%CI: 1.05-1.79), female (HR = 1.42, 95%CI: 1.05-1.94), with (HR = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.02-2.02) or without (HR = 1.42, 95%CI: 1.01-1.99) diabetes, and not using insulin (HR = 2.80, 95%CI: 1.43-5.49). CONCLUSION: AIS patients with consistently high blood glucose levels within 24 h of admission increased the risk of 30-day mortality.