Comparison of Short-Term Surgical Outcomes According to Immediately Postoperative Serum Glucose Level in Non-Diabetic Pancreatic Resection Patients

The adequate regulation of postoperative serum glucose level (SGL) is widely accepted; however, the effects for non-diabetic patients who underwent major pancreatic surgery have not yet been established. We discerned the relevance of the immediately postoperative SGL to short-term postoperative outcomes from major pancreatic surgery in non-diabetic patients. Between January 2007 and December 2016, 2259 non-diabetic patients underwent major pancreatic surgery at four tertiary medical centers in Republic of Korea. Based on a SGL of 200 mg/dL, patients were classified into two groups by averaging the results of four SGL tests taken on the first day after surgery, and their short-term postoperative outcomes were analyzed. A 1:1 propensity score matching method was conducted to establish the high SGL group (n = 568) and the normal SGL group (n = 568). The high SGL group experienced a significantly higher rate of level C complications in the Clavien-Dindo classification (CDc) than the normal SGL group (24.1% vs. 16.5%, p = 0.002). Additionally, an SGL of more than 200 mg/dL was associated with a significantly high risk of complications above level C CDc after adjusting for other risk factors (hazard ratio = 1.324, 95% confidence interval = 1.048–1.672, p = 0.019). The regulation of SGL of less than 200 mg/dL in non-diabetic patients early after major pancreatic surgery could be helpful for reducing postoperative complications.