Transcript Main title
Leanna R. Miller, RN, MN, CCRN-CSC, PCCN-CMC, CEN, CNRN, NP
Education Specialist
LRM Consulting
Nashville, TN
Behavioral Objectives
Describe the etiology of hyperglycemia
in critical illness.
Discuss the most common
complications associated with glucose
abnormalities in the ICU.
Identify an algorithm for monitoring
glucose levels and managing insulin
therapy in the ICU.
Case Study
42 – year old man
acute exacerbation of asthma
associated with community –
acquired pneumonia
he has no history of diabetes
or other chronic diseases
Case Study
Medications
Cefotaxime
Azithromycin
Nebulized albuterol
IV hydrocortisone
Case Study
His blood glucose on
admission is 105 mg/dL
On the next day his blood
glucose is 195 mg/dL and
HA1C of 5.3%
Should his glucose be treated?
Incidence
Hyperglycemia is exceedingly common
in critical illness and may be seen in
virtually all adult medical ICU patients
when the threshold blood glucose (BG)
value is set at >110 mg/dL
Overview
van den Berghe and coworkers in 2001
directly addressed this question and
demonstrated that targeting strict
euglycemia (80 to 110 mg/dL) can lead
to meaningful morbidity and mortality
reductions among surgical ICU patients
supported by mechanical ventilation
Pathophysiology
stress hyperglycemia was considered
adaptive, providing vital fuel to organs
that rely largely on glucose for energy
only excessive glucose excursions,
generally above the renal threshold of
220 mg/dL (known to induce osmotic
diuresis and infectious complications),
were treated with insulin.
Overview
recent research has highlighted the
association between hyperglycemia
and increased morbidity and mortality
in a number of disease states, including
critical illness
Overview
hyperglycemia has been shown to
correlate with development of
congestive heart failure, cardiogenic
shock, and hospital mortality among
patients admitted for acute myocardial
infarction
Overview
after an ischemic stroke, the degree of
hyperglycemia appears to
independently
predict infarct
expansion and
neurologic outcome
Hyperglycemia & Critical Illness
Hyperglycemia during critical illness
can be best characterized as a state of
insulin resistance that develops in the
context of:
increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and
glycogenolysis
impaired peripheral glucose uptake
and higher circulating levels of insulin
Hyperglycemia & Critical Illness
Counterregulatory hormones, such as
glucagon, cortisol, growth hormone,
and catecholamines, as well as elevated
levels of cytokines play an important
role in up-regulating hepatic glucose
production
Hyperglycemia & Critical Illness
Some of these hormones and cytokines
have also been shown to directly
oppose insulin, resulting in increased
lipolysis and proteolysis, which serve
to provide substrates for further
gluconeogenesis
Hyperglycemia & Critical Illness
As patients become bed-bound in the
ICU, exercise-stimulated uptake in
skeletal muscle disappears
Hyperglycemia & Critical Illness
the increased counterregulatory
environment of critical illness and the
impairments in glycogen synthase
activity compromise glucose uptake in
the heart, skeletal muscle, and adipose
tissue
Hyperglycemia & Critical Illness
insulin-stimulated uptake by carriers
such as GLUT-4 (solute carrier family 2,
facilitated glucose transporter member
4) is decreased
Hyperglycemia and Its Biologic Effects
number of important biologic effects
that may explain the apparent
association between glucose excursions
and poor outcomes in the ICU
Hyperglycemia and Its Biologic Effects
the higher risk of organ failure seen in
patients with hyperglycemia, likely in
part arises from alterations in
microcirculation that lead to
inadequate oxygen delivery as a result
of endothelial dysfunction
Hyperglycemia and Its Biologic Effects
even when oxygen delivery is
adequate, certain types of tissue appear
to be at risk for bioenergetic failure and
cellular death resulting from
mitochondrial dysfunction when faced
with persistent hyperglycemia
Hyperglycemia and Its Biologic Effects
hyperglycemia has a number of
immunomodulatory effects
can compromise innate immunity by:
impairing polymorphonuclear
neutrophil function
intracellular bactericidal activity, &
opsonic activity
Hyperglycemia and Its Biologic Effects
high glucose levels can promote
excessive inflammation as evidenced
by increasing proinflammatory
cytokines (such as tumor necrosis
factor-α and interleukins 1β, 6, 8, and
18), inducing nuclear factor-κB, and upregulating leukocyte adhesion
molecules
Hyperglycemia and Its Biologic Effects
Hyperglycemia additionally induces
formation of advanced glycation end
products, which is now recognized to
promote inflammation and endothelial
dysfunction.
high BG levels lead to oxidative stress
and promote a procoagulant state
Clement S et al. Dia Care 2004;27:553-591
Insulin Administration
normalizes blood sugar levels
prevents endothelial dysfunction
preserves mitochondrial structure
improves innate immunity
modulates excessive inflammation
regulates apoptosis
Insulin Administration
reverses the state of dyslipidemia in
critical illness
normalizes the procoagulant state
regulates oxidative stress
attenuates the catabolic state of critical
illness
Review of Available RCTs
In the original single-center surgical
ICU study from Belgium(2001)
a BG target of 80 to 110 mg/dL
absolute risk reduction in ICU mortality
of 3.4%
relative risk reduction of 42%
Review of Available RCTs
meaningful morbidity benefits –
reductions in:
ventilator days
development of infection
acute kidney injury
Review of Available RCTs
mortality improvements were further
amplified (to an ARR of 9.6%) among
the subset of patients who required
ICU-level care for more than 5 days
Review of Available RCTs
VISEP (2008)targeted patients with
severe sepsis or septic shock
designed as a four-arm study to assess
two concurrent interventions
glycemic control (BG targets 80 – 110
mg/dl)
fluid resuscitation
Review of Available RCTs
insulin arm of the study was
prematurely terminated due to
excessive hypoglycemia (defined as BG
<40 mg/dL) in 12.1% of patients
Review of Available RCTs
later, the fluid resuscitation arms of the
study were also stopped early owing to
concerns about increased organ failure
in the 10% pentastarch arm
Review of Available RCTs
Glucontrol enrolled a mixed ICU
population investigated whether IIT
(defined as BG of 80 to 110 mg/dL) led
to better outcomes compared with a
control group with moderate
hyperglycemia ranging between 140
and 180 mg/dL
Review of Available RCTs
Glucontrol study also terminated early,
this time because of excessive protocol
violations and hypoglycemia
No difference in hospital or 28-day
mortality was observed
Review of Available RCTs
NICE-SUGAR, enrolled 6,100 patients
and confirmed that the tightest glucose
control was not necessary—and that it
may even lead to potential harm
NICE-SUGAR assumed a 3% to 4%
absolute risk reduction in death
Safe Glycemic Management in ICU
Sampling
Blood (vascular catheter) – danger of
contamination with IV fluids
Fingerstick – inaccurate in patients with
edema or anemia
Safe Glycemic Management in ICU
Measurements
Glucometer – fastest, least accurate
Blood gas machine – fast, accurate
Laboratory analysis – slowest, most
accurate
Safe Glycemic Management in ICU
Interpretation
< 140 mg/dL – consider context -
monitoring less frequent
140 – 180 mg/dL - HA1C – frequent
monitoring
> 180 mg/dL - HA1C , consider
insulin – monitor per algorithm
Safe Glycemic Management in ICU
Insulin Use
Choose an insulin algorithm
Validate algorithm
Develop criteria for insulin use (upper &
lower limits)
Develop safety procedure
Develop quality – assurance process
Glycemic Variability
wide fluctuations in glucose levels induce
apoptosis, endothelial activation, and
oxidative stress more than sustained
hyperglycemia
glycemic variability has been shown to be a
more powerful predictor of mortality than
mean BG values among a heterogenous
group of ICU patients
Glycemic Variability
In one study, for the same degree of
glucose control (mean BG ranging
between 80 and 110 mg/dL), mortality
ranged from 4.2% to 27.5% depending
on the degree of glucose variability
Krinsley JS. Glycemic variability: a strong independent predictor of mortality
in critically ill patients. Crit Care Med. 2008;36(11):3008-3013
Hypoglycemia
All insulin infusion protocols, no
matter how well executed, almost
always lead to some increase in
hypoglycemic events
Hypoglycemia
hypoglycemia rates in study settings,
where significant hypoglycemia is
defined as a BG level <40 mg/dL may
range from approximately 5% to nearly
19%
Hypoglycemia
some conditions commonly
encountered in the ICU are associated
with an increased risk of hypoglycemia
knowledge of these conditions may
help identify subgroups that require
closer monitoring
Hypoglycemia – High Risk
patients receiving bicarbonate-based
fluid during CVVHD
hemodynamically unstable patients in
need of inotropic support
women
patients with known diabetes
Hypoglycemia – High Risk
septic patients
patients taking octreotide
patients with interruptions in or
intolerance to nutritional support
Hypoglycemia
no studies to date that have definitively
demonstrated the dangers of
hypoglycemia
it is well established that prolonged
and severe hypoglycemia can deplete
astrocyte glycogen stores and lead to
cell death and brain injury
Hypoglycemia
Those already brain injured, such as
neurosurgical patients, or who have
prolonged hypoxemia from refractory
respiratory failure may be at higher
risk for accelerated astrocyte store
depletion
may constitute a particularly
vulnerable subset that requires special
attention.
Recommentations
enthusiasm for rigid glycemic control
has waned
accepting markedly elevated BG values
should remain a relic of the past
Recommentations
Based on the best available evidence,
an approach targeting a moderate BG
value between 140 and 180 mg/dL, as
endorsed by the American Association
of Clinical Endocrinologists and the
American Diabetes Association, seems
most prudent
Recommentations
Wide fluctuations in glucose values
should also be avoided, given
increasing data pointing to the
detrimental effects of glycemic
variability
Case Study
42 – year old man
acute exacerbation of asthma
associated with community –
acquired pneumonia
he has no history of diabetes
or other chronic diseases
Case Study
His blood glucose on
admission is 105 mg/dL
On the next day his blood
glucose is 195 mg/dL and
HA1c of 5.3%
Should his glucose be treated?