Impact of malglycemia on clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with cancer: a review of the literature.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To examine empirical research regarding the role of malglycemia (hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, or glycemic variability) on clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients with cancer. DATA SOURCES Research articles were obtained from the Ovid, PubMed, and CINAHL® databases. Key words used in the search included hyperglycemia or malglycemia and neoplasm combined with venous thromboembolism, infection, or mortality. DATA SYNTHESIS Eleven research articles were examined reporting the impact of malglycemia on various outcomes, including infection, mortality or survival, length of hospital stay, and toxicity. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that malglycemia may have a negative impact on outcomes for hospitalized patients with cancer. Increased rates of infection, mortality, length of stay, and toxicities, as well as decreased survival, were reported. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Oncology nurses play an important role in the identification of patients with malglycemia. Early assessment and intervention for those patients can improve outcomes and quality of life.