• M McCavert, F Mone, M Dooher, R Brown, and M E O'Donnell.
• Department of General Surgery, Daisy Hill Hospital, 5 Hospital Road, Newry, BT35 8DR. Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
• Int J Surg. 2010 Jan 1; 8 (6): 494-8.

BackgroundHyperglycaemia impairs many of the physiological processes involved in recovery from surgery but there is limited research on the effect of optimal peri-operative glucose control in diabetic general surgery patients. The objectives of this study were to assess blood glucose management in diabetic general surgical patients and to determine if protocol deviations were associated with adverse outcomes.MethodsAll diabetic patients undergoing elective and emergency general surgical procedures between August 2007 and July 2008 were included in the study. The hospital protocol for peri-operative blood glucose control was based on the Alberti Regimen. Data was collected regarding blood glucose measurements, adherence to protocol and complications following surgery.ResultsA total of 69 adult patients (M = 44, F = 25; median age 61, range 15-93 years; T1DM = 35, T2DM = 34) were included. 38 patients underwent elective surgery (cholecystectomy, hernia repair, varicose vein surgery) and 31 underwent emergency surgical procedures (laparotomy, incision and drainage of abscess). 10.3% of capillary blood glucose readings were less than 6.1 mmol/l, 32.8% were between 6.1 and 10.0 mmol/l, 44.6% were greater than 10.0 mmol/l 12.3% of scheduled blood glucose measurements were not completed. An insulin-dextrose infusion was indicated in 30 patients, of which 14 (46.7%) were treated according to protocol. In the 16 protocol-deviation cases, insulin was generally either administered according to a sliding scale (6 patients) or not at all during their time on the ward. While an insulin-dextrose infusion was not indicated in 39 patients, 14 (35.9%) of these patients were inappropriately given insulin either as an infusion (8 patients) or according to a sliding scale (6 patients). Overall, only 39 (56.5%) patients were treated according to protocol. The overall complication rate was 29%, which included 7 out of 39 (17.9%) and 13 out of 30 (43.3%) protocol-based and protocol-deviation patients respectively (p = 0.45).ConclusionAlthough not statistically significant, optimal glucose homeostasis according to hospital protocol was associated with a 25.4% reduction in peri-operative complications. We recommend careful blood glucose management according to pre-defined guidelines in all diabetic patients undergoing general surgical procedures.Copyright © 2010 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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