Nurse-led implementation of an insulin-infusion protocol in a general intensive care unit: improved glycaemic control with increased costs and risk of hypoglycaemia signals need for algorithm revision.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Strict glycaemic control (SGC) has become a contentious issue in modern intensive care. Physicians and nurses are concerned about the increased workload due to SGC as well as causing harm through hypoglycaemia. The objective of our study was to evaluate our existing degree of glycaemic control, and to implement SGC safely in our ICU through a nurse-led implementation of an algorithm for intensive insulin-therapy.

Methods

The study took place in the adult general intensive care unit (11 beds) of a 44-bed department of intensive care at a tertiary care university hospital. All patients admitted during the 32 months of the study were enrolled. We retrospectively analysed all arterial blood glucose (BG) results from samples that were obtained over a period of 20 month

SUBMITTER: Alm-Kruse K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2245923 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature