American College of Endocrinology
Consensus Development Conference on Inpatient Diabetes And Metabolic Control
Facts from Inpatient Diabetes and Metabolic Control Consensus Conference
What we now know:
- Hyperglycemia is a serious condition requiring serious medical attention
- Controlling in-hospital patients' blood glucose levels saves lives, reduces disability, shortens hospital stays and saves healthcare dollars
- Intravenous insulin is the most effective means of controlling hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients with diabetes
- The team approach is effective for monitoring and managing hyperglycemia
- Different patients may require different therapeutic strategies
Consensus conference background:
- The consensus conference is the first time leading experts have collaborated to create an inpatient recommendations for care of patients with diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes or high blood glucose illness stress
- Currently, hospitals either create their own blood sugar monitoring and management standards or have no standards at all
Hyperglycemia facts:
- Blood glucose readings need to be reduced to less than 110 mg/dL
- 18.2 million Americans have diabetes
- One in three people with diabetes is unaware of their condition
- Also at risk are people with undiagnosed diabetes as well as those who develop hyperglycemia because of the stress of their illness
- Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in America
- Stroke patients with high blood glucose are more likely to die or have permanent disability than stroke patients with normal glucose levels
- Heart attack patients with high blood glucose are twice as likely to be alive one year later if they receive intensive blood glucose control while in the hospital
- 30 percent to 40 percent of cardiac surgery patients have diabetes