Correlation between Hyperglycemia and PRISM-III (Pediatric Risk of Mortality) Score in Children Admitted to Intensive Care Unit

Recent studies have shown that there is a correlation between hyperglycemia and mortality in critically ill children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between hyperglycemia, mortality and PRISM score in a group of severely ill children. In this cross-sectional study, all children admitted to PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) of Tabriz Children Hospital between 2009-2010 were recruited. Blood glucose ≥150 mg/dL in two samples was considered as hyperglycemia and PRISM-III score was used for evaluation of the illness severity. In a two years period, 213 boys (58.8%) and 149 girls (41.2%) with the total mean age of 28.3 months (1.5 month to 13 years) were studied. Mortality rate (P=0.001) and need for mechanical ventilation (P=0.02) were higher in the hyperglycemic patients. Sensitivity of PRISM score for prediction of the mortality was 81% with cut-off point of 9.5. Increase in blood glucose in critically ill children has an important role in increasing the mortality rate. PRISM score is a sensitive tool for risk prediction and has powerful correlation with hyperglycemia and mortality rate in critically ill children.