Other bulletins in this series include:

Breast Surgery

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Glycemic control in the ICU

Glycemic control in the ICU. N Engl J Med 2010; 363:2540-2546

Kavanagh, BP and McCowen, KC.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp1001115

A 42-year-old man is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with an acute exacerbation of asthma associated with community-acquired pneumonia. He is treated with cefotaxime and azithromycin, nebulized albuterol, and intravenous hydrocortisone. He has no known history of diabetes mellitus. Shortly after admission, his arterial glucose concentration is 105 mg per deciliter (5.8 mmol per liter), and on the next day, it has increased to 195 mg per deciliter (10.8 mmol per liter). His glycated hemoglobin level is 5.3%. Should this elevated glucose level be treated?

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