Consequences of Hypoglycemia on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Patients

Hypoglycemia occurs frequently during intensive blood glucose control in critically ill patients. The incidence of hypoglycaemia is associated with impaired outcome. However, it is hitherto unknown if hypoglycaemia itself predisposes patients to neurological impairment, e.g. cognitive dysfunction, or if it is the underlying medical condition that makes the patient prone to a high risk of hypoglycaemia and, concomitantly, neurocognitive impairment. Therefore we investigate neurocognitive function in patients who had hypoglycemias during their intensive care stay and compare the results to patients without hypoglycaemia whose medical conditions are matched to the hypoglycaemia patients.