Tight Glycemic Control: How Sweet It Is!

Virginia Point of Care Coordinators

April 22, 2005

Disclosures

• State faculty for the Surgical Infection Prevention Initiative

• No financial or other conflicts of interest– Claudette Dalton, M.D.

“What, me worry?”

• Surgical Infection Prevention Initiative (SIP) /Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)

• Literature

• JCAHO/ CMS/ ACS/ ASA/ ICU/ POC/ NQF/ IOM/ QI/ PI/ VHQC

• ICU standard of care

• ? General standard of care

Core Knowledge Needed

• Impact on outcomes• Target BGs/Protocols• Difference between insulins and how they

are given• How/when to test consistently• Treatment and prevention of hypoglycemia• Documentation pathways• Terms and definitions

Definitions

• Hyperglycemia is a blood sugar over 110 in a fasting patient and over 125 in a patient who has eaten.

• Hypoglycemia—40-70 mg/Dl• Point of care testing

– Immediate results that alter management• Diabetes mellitus

– Types I and II, gestational• Hyperglycemia

– Steroids– Stress– Other meds

Conditions that Predispose to Hypoglycemia

• Advanced age• Decreased oral intake• Chronic renal failure• Liver disease• Use of Beta blockers• Mistiming of meals in

relationship to insulin dosing

• Infrequent or missed monitoring

• Lack of coordination with transportation and floor

• Knowledge deficits by providers

• Unreadable, unusual or convoluted orders

• Difficult to follow protocols

• Physician insisting on different protocol

What is the evidence?

• Risk of microvascular complications– Renal and retinal disease– Diabetes Control and Complications Trial

• Risk of macrovascular complications– CAD and stroke– Capes SE. Stroke 2001; 32:2427– DIGAMI and Malmberg K. Circulation. 1999. 99:2626-

2632• Risk of mortality• Risk of infections• Cost of care • ACE and AACE recommendations

Unanswered Questions

• What is “optimal control”?

• How long does the patient need to be in good control?

• Can we take “tight control” too far?

• What is the role of lipids in glucose control?

• Do we need to aggressively treat other medical conditions at the same time?

The Role of Blood Sugar in Infections

• Poor wound healing in general/many already colonized

• Deoxyglucose inhibits glycolytic metabolism which generates energy for superoxide production

• No absolute Km identified but glucose level proportional to neutrophil activity

• Granulocyte functions—improve when glucose control is good—i.e. <200mg/dL– Adherence– Delays chemotaxis– Impairs phagocytosis– Decreased bacteriocidal activity

Other DM Complications in Surgery

• Cellular immunity– Decreased complement fixation

• Collagen—increased collagenase activity

• Role of microvascular damage

• 34% of insulin dependent diabetics are colonized with s. aureus

• Cardiac cellular function

Vanderbilt StudyLatham R. et.al. Infact Control Hosp Epidemiol.

2001; 22:607-612

• Prospective, 1044 CABG and valve ops• 6% had undiagnosed diabetes• SSI pts.—62% of known diabetics had

hyperglycemia/37% of non-DM patients• Dx of DM associated with 2.7X risk for SSI• Rate of SSIs correlated with degree of

hyperglycemia• Hyperglycemia during periop is independent risk

factor

Vanderbilt, con’t

• Similar to other studies, 6% were undiagnosed diabetics

• 19% in this study had abnormal HgbA1c and another 11% had glucose >200

• But Hgb A1c did not correlate with SSIs• Still, suggest that screening with HgbA1c

for diagnosis of DM is cost effective if therapy is initiated

Perioperative Glucose Control• 1,000 cardiothoracic surgery patients• Diabetics and non-diabetics with hyperglycemia

Patients with a blood sugar > 300 mg/dL during or within 48 hours of surgery had more than 3X the likelihood of a wound infection!

Latham R, et al. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2001.

What factor makes the difference?

• Patients may be undiagnosed (4.2%--or higher!)• Most infections when glucose level is >200 mg/dL• Risk same if glucose high anytime in first 48

hours• Hyperglycemia doubles risk—2—2.7X

– 20mg/Dl increase = 30% increase risk of death

• May directly affect cardiac cellular function• Can be stress or medication induced

– Capes SE. Lancet. 2000. 773-778 and Clement S. Diabetes Care. 2004. 27:553-591

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough…

• Enormous percentage of our patients are diabetic

• Another percentage are undiagnosed or hyperglycemic from other causes

• Adding nutrition and crisis management

• Source of blood

• Timing of testing

• Tests used

Ain’t no Valley Low Enough…

• Hypoglycemia is a blood glucose of 40-70 • Institution dependent• Cause seizures, brain death if too low• Anesthesia and sedation block usual

symptoms• Blood source• Timing of testing• Tests used

Is There a River Wide Enough?• Who is the crew and who is the coxswain?• Untraditional looking crew

– Nutritionist, Pharmacist, QI/PI, managers– Lab, nurses, doctors, educators

• Constant educational needs• Policies• Which protocol? • Point of care testing and decision making• Patients go through multiple units while in the

hospital—transitions are trouble points• Costs/equipment

Protocol, protocol, who has a protocol?

• Portland, van den Berghe, Yale, home-grown?• Elements to look for

– While NPO, when feeding, when crisis– Timing of doses/testing– Subcu vs IV—continuous (CII) vs. bolus– Different protocol for night shift, for sicker patients, for iconoclastic

docs?

• Start higher to avoid going lower—how low is too low? • How many get hypoglycemic on each protocol? • KISS –or not?• Education, re-education and more education• Requires an IV for most of the protocols

UVA Protocol

• ICU generated• 95 is ICU target, <175 is SIP target, 125-175 is

general floor target• No subcu• Tests q 1h till stable X 2, then q 2h• Hypoglycemia at 80 mg/Dl--!!! This is very

unusual• Capillary unless needs checking, then venous—

not sure why we do not use arterial in ICU

UVA SIP Glucose Compliance

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

June Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

% BG < 200

PortlandFurnary. J Thorac CardiovascSurg, 2003; 125: 1007-21

• http://www.starwood.com • Endocr Pract 2004; 10: 21-33• Tests q .5-2 hrs• Continuous IV only• Avg. 3 day Blood glucose• 13,649 patients since 1987—prospective

interventional• 1.5% hypoglycemia rate (60 mg/Dl)

van den BergheNEJM 2001. 345:1359-1367

• 1548 SICU patients. Randomized, prospective, controlled.

• IV insulin to maintain between 80 and 110 mg/Dl

• Relatively short• Measures q 2h until goal, then q 4h• Hypoglycemia at 60• No additional protocols for adding

nutrition, crises, weaning

Yale

• Goldberg PA, et al. Diabetes Care. 2004; 27:461-467

• Current BG leads you to table. Hourly rate of change is guide. Nomogram. Complicated.

• Target is 100-139 mg/Dl. Very little hypoglycemia

• Mean time to target is 4.6 hrs. Median is 9 hrs.• Protocol rated “easy”, no additions for nutrition,

weaning, crises.

Other protocols

• Markovitz—Endocr Pract. 2002; 8:10-16– Has default algorithm– Testing frequency lowers as stabilizes– Hourly rate=hourly maintenance rate +(blood glucose-

150)/ISF– Cut off is 100

• UNC—not published yet– Target of 80-110. Has no hypoglycemia cut-off.

• Florida Hospital—not published, looks like blend of Markovitz format and Portland amounts

• Glucommander

Free Form Protocols-Basic Concepts

• Usual start dose is 0.15 u/kg• Continuous IV weaned to bolus weaned to usual• Think Basal/Nutritional/Correction (Crisis) as

three distinct levels with different needs• Basal needs long acting agent like glargine• Nutritional needs medium acting at 1 unit/10

gms of CHO• Crisis/correctional needs short acting like Lispro

or Aspartine

More Basics to Keep in Mind

• Use regular insulin or NPH in drips

• Regular insulin at doses of 0.5-1 unit/ml

• Infuse at 0.1 unit dose increments

• Use IV fluids with glucose—usually D5

• Monitor potassium

• Have D50 available and oral CHO also.

But is CII cheaper than SQ?

• Direct and indirect costs for 3 days of q 4h SQ=$32/pt

• Costs of 3 days of Cont IV infusion with q 1-2 h test =$170/pt ($138 difference)

• Cost of DSWI =$2613/pt + $2081 for 1.8 additional days

• $4694-138 =$4556/pt or $4,556,000 per 1000 CABGs

• US Hospital savings = 103K CABGs =$469 million/yr

Point of Care Testing

• Essential• Timing is crucial• Which blood source? Urine? Same over time? • Sensitivity vs. specificity• What interferes with the test you use?• No way to get trends at this time• What would you want in a testor that you do not

have now…?• Who needs to be involved? What skills do they

need or bring to share?

More on POC Testing

• Bedside monitoring vs. central lab

• Does the person doing the test matter?

• Self-monitoring?

• Cost, accuracy, accountability

• Will we live long enough to see a non-invasive bedside monitor? Wireless?

• Ketones, albumin, HbA1c, glycated serum proteins-better than blood glucose?

The Pieces You Need

• Know the literature and other rationales

• Have a credible champion

• The right protocol

• Forms, policies and order sets

• The right team

• Enough equipment

• Strong Quality Improvement department

What to Do with the Pieces• Start with one unit• Keep all data in one place• Solid communication system• Accurate test administered by trained

professionals• Timely changes in treatment• Start high, move lower• Never stop educating• Have a safety plan• Consider special circumstances

Data that may help you…

• Knowing what percentage of patients are diabetic—and guesstimating percent of unrecognized hyperglycemic patients

• Literature• Knowing what surgical infection rate is • Estimating cost to your institution in terms

of: – Mortality– LOS– Financial Costs

Thanks…

• Questions, comments, suggestions?

• ced2t@virginia.edu