ArticleCureus2023
Elevated Hemoglobin A1c and the Risk of Postoperative Complications in Elective Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery.
Article in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predictors of Unplanned Postoperative Visits in a Veterans Affairs Hand Surgery Practice.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2026Article
- SurgiCut-AI: an AI-driven tool for predicting surgical site infections following ventral hernia repair using pre- and intra-operative parameters.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies addressing the utility of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in predicting surgical complications have reported mixed results. In practice, many surgeons use HbA1c cutoffs to determine a patient's eligibility for elective surgery. The literature is especially limited in evaluating HbA1c as a risk factor in elective hand and upper extremity surgery. This study aims to evaluate the association of elevated HbA1c levels with the risk of postoperative complications in elective hand and upper extremity surgeries.
methodsWe performed a chart review of patients who underwent these elective operations performed by a single surgeon at a single institution. The outcomes of 930 surgeries were collected up to three months postoperatively, 334 of which had pre or postoperative HbA1c levels recorded. All 930 surgeries were evaluated for association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and complication rates using Fisher's exact test, absolute risk, odds ratio, and regression analysis.
resultsDM alone was not associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications. In diabetic patients with both diagnosed DM and HbA1c > 10%, the absolute risk of complications was significantly higher. None of the other HbA1c categories (between 6.5% and 10%) were associated with significantly higher odds of complications in patients with diagnosed DM.
conclusionsIn the context of elective hand and upper extremity surgery, glycemic control (measured by HbA1c) should be included as an element of the surgical preparedness algorithm, rather than an independent disqualifying factor.
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Registered trials
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