Management of blood glucose in the critically ill in Australia and New Zealand: a practice survey and inception cohort study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To document current management of blood glucose in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units (ICUs) and to investigate the association between insulin administration, blood glucose concentration and hospital outcome. DESIGN AND SETTING: Practice survey and inception cohort study in closed multi-disciplinary ICUs in Australia and New Zealand. PATIENTS: Twenty-nine ICU directors and 939 consecutive admissions to 29 ICUs during a 2-week period. MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS: Data collected included unit approaches to blood glucose management, patient characteristics, blood glucose concentrations, insulin administration and patient outcomes. Ten percent of the ICU directors reported u..