title: The value of point-of-care testing when instituting an insulin drip protocol.
abstract: The critically ill patient's response to stress is to increase production of glucose; his can lead to hyperglycemia as insulin releasing factors become overloaded. Although parenteral insulin can aid in preventing complications of hyperglycemia by maintaining a euglycemic state, care must be taken to prevent hypoglycemia. The safest way to prevent large fluctuations in blood glucose levels is frequent monitoring of blood glucose levels via bedside glucose testing. As blood glucose levels fluctuate, the critical care nurse may titrate an insulin drip without specific orders for how much to increase or decrease the amount of insulin infusing. By developing a protocol, including a formula to calculate the amount of insulin to infuse, based on blood glucose levels, the critical care nurse can safely, competently, and accurately maintain blood glucose levels under 250 mg/dL.
authors.affiliation: Trauma/ED/Orthopedic/Neurosurgical Services, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D003422:Critical Care / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin