Incidence and Risk Factors of Late‐Onset Hypoglycemia in Extremely Low Gestational Age or Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim To determine incidence and risk factors associated with late‐onset hypoglycemia in extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight infants. Methods Retrospective single‐center cohort study including infants with a gestational age < 28 weeks or birth weight < 1000 g. Late‐onset hypoglycemia was defined as any blood glucose level < 2.6 mmol/L occurring after Day 7 of life in infants on full enteral nutrition. Results Out of 211 included infants, 41 (19.4%) experienced at least one episode of late‐onset hypoglycemia. Late‐onset hypoglycemia was negatively associated with gestational age ( p = 0.013), birth weight ( p < 0.001), birth weight z ‐score ( p < 0.001) and maternal arterial hypertension ( p = 0.003). Conclusion The risk of late‐onset hypoglycemia is considerable in infants with a gestational age < 28 weeks or birth weight under 1000 g. Therefore, careful glucose monitoring beyond the first week of life is recommended for this vulnerable population.