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Medical ICU Paper-based Dynamic Insulin Protocol

Completed
Conditions
Stress Hyperglycemia
Interventions
Other: dynamic insulin protocol
Other: static insulin protocol
Registration Number
NCT02847104
Lead Sponsor
University Hospital, Caen
Brief Summary

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients commonly display hyperglycemia, even without previously known diabetes. It was demonstrated that hyperglycemia was associated with increased hospital mortality in various medical and surgical ICU situations. However, discrepant results from recent randomized, clinical trials of tight blood glucose control in ICUs have not allowed conclusions regarding whether there is a causal link between hyperglycemia and ICU mortality. In addition to the mean blood glucose level, glucose variability has recently been emphasized as an independent predictor of ICU and hospital mortality. This concept has been described in a wide variety of medical, surgical and trauma ICU patients. In all of these settings, glycemic variability was measured with various indices but was steadily associated with ICU and/or hospital mortality in non-diabetic ICU patients. Conversely, glycemic variability was either weakly or not associated with mortality in ICU patients with previously known diabetes. Notably, all of these data have been observational, and interventional trials remain lacking to assess the impact of glycemic variability reduction on ICU mortality and thus to demonstrate causality. However, glycemic variability was considered sufficiently important to be mentioned in recent international guidelines for the management of hyperglycemia in critically ill patients. In these publications, experts from the American College of Critical Care Medicine emphasized that glycemia should be maintained at less than 9.9 mmol/L in ICU patients while avoiding hypoglycemia and minimizing glycemic variability. To achieve these goals, computer-based insulin infusion protocols have demonstrated their superiority to paper-based protocols. Glucose concentrations, variation per unit of time between the last and current glucose measurements, insulin dosage, and carbohydrate intake were the main input variables used in these different computerized algorithms. However, such protocols are not widely available because commercial systems have licensing fees and academic protocols do not always go beyond the pilot phase.

To address this issue, the investigators adapted a previously validated, paper-based, dynamic protocol (DP) to an actual recommended glycemic target range. Our aim was to assess the efficacy, safety, feasibility and acceptance by nurses of this dynamic insulin protocol, compared to a paper-based, sliding scale static protocol (SP).

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
131
Inclusion Criteria
  • Male or female adult patient admitted to intensive care unit
  • Intensive care unit stay > 48 hours
  • Stress hyperglycemia above 9.9 mmil/L indicating the need of continuous intravenous insulin infusion
Exclusion Criteria
  • Previous diabetes
  • Acute metabolic event (ketoacidosis or hyperosmolarity)
  • Insulin/dextrose infusion for hyperkalemia treatment

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
dynamic insulin protocoldynamic insulin protocolpatients received intravenous insulin infusion according to a dynamic insulin protocol
static insulin protocolstatic insulin protocolpatients received intravenous insulin infusion according to a static insulin protocol
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
MAGE (mean amplitude of glycemic excursion) indexcalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
SD: standard deviation of glycemiacalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
LBGI: low blood glucose indexcalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
time before the first glucose value in the target range (h)calculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
MAG: mean absolute glucose changecalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
CV: coefficient of variation of glycemiacalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
LI: lability indexcalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
HBGI: high blood glucose indexcalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
mean blood glucosecalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
GRADE: glycemic risk assessment diabetes equationcalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
time spent in the target range (140 to 180 mg/dL - 7.7 to 9.9 mmol/L)calculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
low blood glucose episodes (less than 80 and 60 mg/dL - 4.4 and 3.3 mmol/L) (n/patient)measured during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
M-Valuecalculated during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
severe hypoglycemia (less than 40 mg/dL - 2.2 mmol/L) (n/patient)measured during the 5 first days after beginning of insulin infusion
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