Diabetes makes recovery more complicated

Following an accident or hospitalisatio, diabetics are more likely to spend a longer time in intensive care, and are more susceptible to picking up an infection, than those who do not have diabetes, according to a recent American study.
An expert team of researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine examined the cases of over 26,000 patients who had to be hospitalised following trauma injuries . Apparently, those patients who suffered from diabetes spent two days longer on a ventilator, and faced a 50 per cent increased risk of catching an infection.
Diabetics were also more likely to require intensive care, and experience complications over the course of their hospital stay. Matt Hunt, of Diabetes UK, reportedly commented that diabetes: “seems to affect the immune system and people’s power of recuperation. What is interesting though is that this study shows that people with diabetes are much more vulnerable to infections by a large margin. This is an interesting avenue of investigation as infections such as MRSA are a major issue in UK hospitals.”