MedPath

Intensive Glycemic Control for Congestive Heart Failure Exacerbation

Phase 2
Completed
Conditions
Congestive Heart Failure
Diabetes Mellitus
Interventions
Drug: Subcutaneous insulin
Drug: Intravenous insulin
Registration Number
NCT00812253
Lead Sponsor
Kathleen Dungan
Brief Summary

Patients with heart failure often have high blood sugar (glucose).

Detailed Description

Patients with heart failure often have high blood sugar. High glucose contributes to severe hospital complications and even death. Studies suggest that heart failure patients who have high glucose or diabetes do not live as long as patients with normal glucose. In this study, we will determine whether normalizing blood sugars using intravenous insulin short-term will improve outcomes in patients hospitalized for congestive heart failure. We enrolled patients with severe heart failure and randomly assigned them into 2 groups. We used intravenous (given through the vein) insulin to lower blood sugar levels in group 1, and insulin injections in group 2. We determined whether intravenous insulin improved hospital length of stay, rates of readmission, inflammatory markers, and cardiovascular tests that predict mortality in patients with heart failure.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
74
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age 18 and above
  • Admitted (less than 48 hours) to the OSU Ross Heart Hospital with worsening heart failure
  • Hyperglycemia or diabetes. Hyperglycemia is defined as blood glucose greater than 150 mg/dL on at least 2 occasions separated by at least 4 hours apart, insulin use, or HbA1c >6.5%.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Receiving comfort care measures only
  • Hospital stay expected to be less than 2 days
  • Pregnancy
  • Prisoners
  • Participation in the study on prior hospitalizations
  • Acute myocardial infarction within 3 months
  • End stage renal or liver disease

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Subcutaneous InsulinSubcutaneous insulinBasal bolus insulin (4 injections per day)
Intravenous InsulinIntravenous insulin-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Hospital Length of StayDays

Duration of hospitalization in days

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Hospital Readmission30 days

All-cause hospital readmission at 30 days after discharge

Heart Rate Variability72 hours

High frequency (HF) Heart rate variability (HRV). HRV was assessed with a Bionex system (Mindware, Gahanna, OH). The electrocardiogram was performed in the standard lead II configuration and impedance cardiography was performed using a standard tetrapolar arrangement. Measures were performed at baseline and each morning (0800-1000 hour) during and following the intervention for 7 minutes each. Software (Mindware, Gahanna, OH) was used to derive HF HRV. The middle five minutes of the recordings were scored minute by minute and the first suitable1 minute period was used for calculation. Five minute epochs were not feasible due to an unexpectedly high frequency of ectopy. One minute intervals allow calculation of HF (parasympathetic tone) but not low frequency (combination of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone).

Change in Quality of Life30 day

Change in Quality of Life questionnaire measured from baseline (enrollment) to 30 days following discharge. The questionnaire is a self-administered disease-specific questionnaire for patients with HF, comprising 21 items rated on six-point Likert scales, representing different degrees of impact of HF on health related quality of life, from 0 (none) to 5 (very much). It provides a total score (range 0-105, from best to worst HRQoL),

Cardiac Output72 hours

Cardiac output measured using impedance cardiography at 72 hours.

Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP)72 hours

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) was measured at day 3

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Ohio State University

🇺🇸

Columbus, Ohio, United States

The Ohio State University
🇺🇸Columbus, Ohio, United States

MedPath

Empowering clinical research with data-driven insights and AI-powered tools.

© 2025 MedPath, Inc. All rights reserved.