Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia is a common complication of diabetes melitis (DM) and in the absence of metabolic decompensation is a common finding in the Emergency Department (ED). We aimed to evaluate the 25 OH Vit D [25(OH)D] and procalcitonin (PCT) levels during hyperglycemia and after normalization of blood glucose.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 88 patients over the age of 18 years who presented with acute hyperglycemia at the Hacettepe University Department of Emergency Medicine. Euglycemia was obtained within 6–12 hours and serum samples were taken from patients on admission and 6 hours after normalization of blood glucose. Along with plasma glucose, plasma 25(OH)D and PCT levels were measured using ELISA.

RESULTS: There were 88 (45 males) patients, with a median age of 60.0±13.9 years. Serum 25(OH)D levels increased in all patients after normalization of blood glucose, and serum PCT levels decreased in the whole group. This decrease was independent of type of diabetes or presence of infection.

CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated an increase in 25(OH)D after normalization of blood glucose, and a decrease in PCT in patients with hyperglycemia. This effect was independent of the type of diabetes and presence of infection. Further studies are needed to evaluate the faster link between metabolic abnormalities, vitamin D, PCT, and inflammation.

Keywords: Protein Precursors - blood, Insulin - therapeutic use, Hyperglycemia - drug therapy, Calcitonin - blood, Vitamin D - blood