Glargine Insulin Versus Continous Regular Insulin in Diabetic Surgical Patients Receiving Parenteral Nutrition (GLUCOSE-in-PN)

Hyperglycemia increases the risk of complications in surgical patients. Focus on poor glycemic control as a contributor to adverse outcomes in settings outside the intensive care unit (ICU) is often dismissed. Total parenteral Nutrition (TPN) has been used in providing surgical patients with nutrition to prevent deterioration of nutritional status. However, many diabetic patients receiving TPN develop exaggerated hyperglycemia that requires frequent insulin administration via sliding scale. Providing diabetic patient's receiving TPN basal insulin is a known strategy to aid in blood sugar control and prevention of high blood sugar spikes. Many strategies for basal insulin provision have been utilized clinically during the administration of TPN; this includes the incorporation of insulin with TPN solution or administration of long acting insulin such as glargine. However, no study has compared any of these strategies aiming for selecting the optimum modality for controlling blood glucose in diabetic surgical patient's receiving TPN. We will conduct a study to compare the efficacy of once daily insulin glargine versus continuous regular insulin incorporated TPN in controlling blood glucose in non-critically ill diabetic surgical patients receiving TPN.