Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care
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Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care · Mar 2007
ReviewPractical aspects of intensive insulinization in the intensive care unit.
Strategies used for intensive insulin therapy of critically ill patients and differences of approach according to medical condition are reviewed. ⋯ Attainment and preservation of glycemic control among critically ill patients are best attempted with intravenous insulin infusion. Advances in the design of decision support and insulin delivery systems, and progress in the technology of continuous blood glucose monitoring, are likely to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia, without compromise of target range control, such that the patient outcomes enjoyed by experienced centers in the future will prove generalizable to others through the extension of new technologies.
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Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care · Mar 2007
ReviewCurrent controversies around tight glucose control in critically ill patients.
This review updates our knowledge on the benefits and risks of tight glucose control by intensive insulin therapy in critically ill patients, as well as discussing unanswered questions related to the subject. ⋯ Practical recommendations for the implementation of tight glucose control using intensive insulin therapy cannot be disseminated until questions relating to optimal blood glucose level and the corresponding categories of patients have been resolved. The issues of glucose variability and the most efficient method of preventing hypoglycaemia will probably represent important parameters for comparing the safety and quality of protocols used for tight glucose control.
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Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care · Mar 2007
ReviewHyperglycemia in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Studies on critically ill adults demonstrate the benefits of glycemic control. There is a paucity of data, however, in pediatric intensive care settings. This review summarizes sentinel papers in the adult literature, outlines mechanisms by which hyperglycemia mediates its effects in the critically ill, highlighting those described in pediatrics, and discusses studies that associate hyperglycemia with negative outcome in critically ill children. ⋯ Glucose control in pediatric intensive care has been receiving increasing attention. Large, prospective studies are needed to address certain issues in pediatrics, such as differences in diseases, target values, complications of disease, risks and sequelae of hypoglycemia and logistical challenges.