A phase II randomised controlled trial of intensive insulin therapy in general intensive care patients (original) (raw)

2006, Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine

To determine the safety and efficacy of an intensive insulin regimen compared with a conventional insulin regimen in general intensive care unit patients. A phase II, randomised controlled trial was conducted in 70 critically ill patients in a closed multidisciplinary ICU of a university-affiliated tertiary hospital. We assessed patient characteristics at baseline. Trial process measures included number of blood glucose measurements per day and number in target range, type and quantity of caloric intake, patient outcome and insulin dosing. The primary outcome was the median blood glucose concentration. Secondary outcome measures were incidence of hypoglycaemia (blood glucose level < 2.2 mmol/L), clinical sequelae of hypoglycaemia and hospital mortality. Thirty-five patients were randomised to each of the two groups. More blood glucose samples were taken per day in the intensive insulin group (16 versus 9), but the number of samples in the normoglycaemic range was 48.5%, compared ...