Abstract
Background: Long bone fractures either single or multiple present frequently to the emergency. The metabolic response to trauma elicits various markers amongst which is hyperglycaemia. Determination of hyperglycaemia in these two sets of patients is however yet to be fully evaluated.
Objective: To compare the random blood glucose levels in patients with single and multiple long bone fractures.
Design: Prospective comparative cross-sectional study
Setting: Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun state Nigeria.
Patients and Methods: Ninety cases of patients with traumatic single and multiple long bone fractures had their random blood glucose levels evaluated at three different times and were all treated.
Main Outcome Measure: Random blood glucose level before,during and after resuscitation.
Results: Ninety patients were recruited into the study with 65 and 25 of them having single and multiple long bone fractures respectively. Young males with closed Tibia fractures following road traffic accidents accounted for majority (30%) of the single fractures while those with floating knee accounted for the majority (8.8%) of multiple long bone fractures. The mean Random blood glucose at presentation, 12 hours and 24 hours after presentation were 7.7,7.1 and 5.9 (mmol/l) respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the random blood glucose levels between patients with single and those with multiple long bone fractures.
Conclusion: Patients with multiple long bone fractures appear to mount a higher metabolic response to trauma. Hyperglycaemia can be reduced with prompt and adequate resuscitation. Thus routine random glucose checks for all trauma patients should be done and serve as marker for injury severity and adequacy of resuscitation.
