Influence of ankle fracture surgery on glycemic control in patients with diabetes

BACKGROUND: Although ankle fracture surgery can affect glycemic control by either trauma-induced stress or a postoperative decrease in physical activity, there is little evidence on this issue. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of ankle fracture surgery on glycemic control and to assess the risk factors for poor glycemic control after surgery in patients with diabetes. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of consecutive patients with diabetes who underwent open reduction and internal fixation for the treatment of ankle fracture at our hospital. Patients who underwent blood testing, including fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and cholesterol levels, as part of a routine check-up before surgery and again more than 2 times after surgery were included. Changes in blood test results were adjusted by multiple factors using a linear mixed model with sex, age at time of surgery, body mass index (BMI), and type of ankle fracture as the fixed effects and each subject and timing of blood test as the random effects. RESULTS: Sixty patients were ultimately included in this study. At 1 month postoperatively, mean FBG and cholesterol levels had increased significantly compared with preoperative levels (p = 0.011 and 0.024, respectively). After surgery, FBG levels showed an estimated monthly decrease of 2.2 mg/dL (p = 0.017). Sex, age at time of surgery, and type of ankle fracture did not significantly affect the monthly change in FBG level. FBG returned to the preoperative level at an estimated period of 8.1 months. BMI significantly affected preoperative FBG level (p = 0.015) but not the postoperative change in FBG level (p = 0.500). CONCLUSION: Ankle fracture surgery increased the FBG level at 1 month postoperatively. FBG levels decreased gradually after surgery at an estimated monthly rate of 2.2 mg/dL. Physicians should be aware of the difficulty in postoperative blood glucose control in patients with diabetes, even several months after surgery.