OBJECTIVE Hypoglycemia is common in patients with diabetes. The risk of hypoglycemia after acute kidney injury (AKI) is not well-defined. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk for postdischarge hypoglycemia among hospitalized patients with diabetes who do and do not experience AKI.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a propensity-matched analysis of patients with diabetes, with and without AKI, using a retrospective national cohort of veterans hospitalized between 2004 and 2012. AKI was defined as a 0.3 mg/dL or 50% increase in serum creatinine from baseline to peak serum creatinine during hospitalization. Hypoglycemia was defined as hospital admission or an emergency department visit for hypoglycemia or as an outpatient blood glucose <60 mg/dL. Time to incident hypoglycemia within 90 days postdischarge was examined using Cox proportional hazards models. Prespecified subgroup analyses by renal recovery, baseline chronic kidney disease, preadmission drug regimen, and HbA_1c were performed.

RESULTS We identified 65,151 propensity score–matched pairs with and without AKI. The incidence of hypoglycemia was 29.6 (95% CI 28.9–30.4) and 23.5 (95% CI 22.9–24.2) per 100 person-years for patients with and without AKI, respectively. After adjustment, AKI was associated with a 27% increased risk of hypoglycemia (HR 1.27 [95% CI 1.22–1.33]). For patients with full recovery, the HR was 1.18 (95% CI 1.12–1.25); for partial recovery, the HR was 1.30 (95% CI 1.23–1.37); and for no recovery, the HR was 1.48 (95% CI 1.36–1.60) compared with patients without AKI. Across all antidiabetes drug regimens, patients with AKI experienced hypoglycemia more frequently than patients without AKI, though the incidence of hypoglycemia was highest among insulin users, followed by glyburide and glipizide users, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS AKI is a risk factor for hypoglycemia in the postdischarge period. Studies to identify risk-reduction strategies in this population are warranted.