Higher BGL better in hospital

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In-Hospital Blood Sugar Levels Should Be Higher

New recommendations slightly higher than those of leading diabetes group....

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The American College of Physicians has released new guidelines recommending

that doctors not attempt intensive insulin therapy designed to achieve

normal blood sugar levels in patients in medical or surgical intensive care

units.

These guidelines are for both people with diabetes and without the

condition. The college recommends that doctors should maintain blood sugar

levels between 140 and 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) for anyone in

medical or surgical intensive care.

These recommendations are similar to the guidelines from the American

Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Association of Clinical

Endocrinologists (AACE). However, those guidelines recommend that blood

sugar levels should be kept below 180 mg/dL to reduce the risk of infection

and other complications.

For reference, in a healthy person with Type 2 diabetes, normal blood sugar

levels would be between 70 mg/dL and 130 mg/dL before eating. And, even

after eating (postprandial), the recommendation from the ADA is to keep

blood sugar levels under 180 mg/dL.

" [High blood sugar] is a common finding in hospitalized patients, and it's

associated with a lot of complications, like delayed healing, increased

infection, cardiovascular events . You name it, " said Dr. Amir Qaseem,

director of clinical policy in the medical education division of the

American College of Physicians.

" The prevailing thought in the past was that tightly controlling the blood

sugar levels would reduce inflammation, clotting and other problems. But,

there are also harms that are associated with lowering the blood glucose

levels too much. [Low blood sugar] can be very dangerous, " said Dr. Qaseem.

Recent research, including a study in the Feb. 15 issue of the ls of

Internal Medicine, has found that the use of intensive insulin therapy comes

with an increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) which can be

deadly. The study also concluded that using intensive insulin therapy to

significantly lower blood sugar levels isn't associated with greater

improvements in health outcomes.

" The evidence isn't clear on what range of blood sugar is best, but 140 to

200 mg/dL seems to minimize the risk of hypoglycemia [in surgical or medical

units], " said Qaseem. " We felt it was better to stick with a range that is a

little bit higher. "

Dr. Korytowski, a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh

School of Medicine, and a member of the board of directors of the American

Diabetes Association, said that intensive insulin management in medical and

surgical units isn't the best way to manage blood sugar any more.

But, Korytowski said, " 200 mg/dL is probably too high. The 2009 ADA/AACE

guidelines recommend 180 mg/dL, which is consistent with postprandial

numbers in diabetes care. "

The problem is that if you set the target too high, those numbers may be

even higher when someone starts giving insulin to bring those numbers down,

she explained.

" These guidelines should not be interpreted to mean that glucose control

isn't important for critically ill patients: it is. And it's important not

to let the blood sugar get too high because of the risk of complications,

like a higher risk of infection and fluid and electrolyte abnormalities, "

she said. And, she added, that it's important to remember these guidelines

give a range of options. " Managing blood sugar closer to the lower end is

probably better, " she concluded.

ls of Internal Medicine Feb. 15, 2011

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