Objective: Our study was designed to address whether steroid-induced hyperglycemia after neurosurgery affects rehabilitation and hospital length of stay (LOS) in patients with cancer.
Patients and methods: We reviewed the medical records of 290 post-neurosurgery patients at our cancer center in 2002.
Results: Of the 267 nondiabetic patients and 23 diabetic patients (P < .001), 2 and 8, respectively, had hyperglycemia which is defined as casual plasma glucose concentrations of ≥200 mg/dL on 2 different days. In all patients studied, hyperglycemia does not predict longer hospital stay or needs for rehabilitation.
Conclusions: The frequency of corticosteroid-induced hyperglycemia in post-neurosurgery patients with cancer was low.