Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of educational tools to improve tight glucose control during implementation of intensive insulin therapy in an intensive care unit. Design: Prospective quality-assessment study. Setting: The study took place in a mixed medical-surgical intensive care unit in a university-affiliated hospital. Intervention: A multidisciplinary extensive ongoing educational program about tight glucose control was initiated two years after implementation of an intravenous intensive insulin therapy protocol. Measurements and main results: Glucose measurements a year before and after intervention were analyzed. Mean annual blood glucose levels decreased from 167.6±11.8 mg/dL to 128.0±3.8 mg/dL, and the mean rate of hypoglycemia ≤40 mg/dL increased from 0.89% to 0.96% after intervention in the overall glucose readings of489patients in 2005 and 570patients in 2006. Conclusions: Implementation of glucose control is feasible in routine care in intensive care units and is improved by ongoing feedback of results to staff. This study shows the importance of staff and nurse education as an ongoing process to implement new strategies in intensive care medicine.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 33-38 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Nutritional Therapy and Metabolism |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - Jan 2009 |
Keywords
- Critical illness
- Education
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypoglycemia
- Insulin
- Intensive care unit