• Michael S Yoo, Abraham Daniels, Rene A Maslow, John A Gomez, Nannette L Meyers, Pamela S Bohrer, Siamack Nemazie, Christina E Sanford, Emily A Peterson, Kendal L Hamann, Darcy E Walsh, Alison M O'Herlihy, and Vivek Kumra.
• Department of Hospital Medicine, Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Aug 5; 101 (31): e29665e29665.

AbstractAlthough the practice of using rapid-acting subcutaneous insulin for the management of mild-to-moderate diabetic ketoacidosis is becoming increasingly popular, the continuous insulin infusion remains widely utilized, and its real-world applicability and safety on a medical surgical unit (Med Surg) and observation level of care are unclear. We assessed whether a continuous insulin infusion protocol for mild-to-moderate diabetic ketoacidosis on Med Surg/observation level of care over a 6.5-year period was associated with adverse outcomes. A retrospective cohort study of adults hospitalized with mild-to-moderate diabetic ketoacidosis was conducted at 2 community hospitals in Northern California, USA, from January 2014 to May 2020. Demographic and clinical variables were collected using an electronic health record. Admission to Med Surg/observation was compared to intensive care unit admission for the outcomes of 30-day readmission, presence of hypoglycemia, rate of hypoglycemic episodes, in-hospital and 30-day mortality, and length of stay using bivariate analysis. Among 227 hospital encounters (mean age 41 years, 52.9% women, 79.3% type 1 diabetes, 97.4% utilization of continuous insulin infusion), 19.4% were readmitted within 30 days, and 20.7% developed hypoglycemia. For Med Surg/observation encounters compared to the intensive care unit, there were no statistically significant differences in the risk of readmission (RR 1.48, 95% CI, 0.86-2.52), hypoglycemia (RR 1.17, 95% CI, 0.70-1.95), or increased length of stay (RR 0.71, 95% CI, 0.55-1.02); there was a lower risk of hypoglycemic events during hospitalization (RR 0.69, 95% CI, 0.54-0.96). Continuous insulin infusion utilization may be a safe option for treatment of mild-to-moderate diabetic ketoacidosis on Med Surg/observation level of care. Further investigation is needed.Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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