Assessment of the efficacy and safety of a protocol to manage glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycemia in diabetic patients during hospital stay

Abstract Introduction There are no agreed protocols on hospital management of hyperglycemic decompensation induced by pharmacological doses of glucocorticoids (GCs). The study objective was to assess the efficacy and safety of an insulin therapy protocol specific for patients treated with glucocorticoids (CP) as compared to a general protocol (GP) in diabetes decompensation secondary to glucocorticoids. Materials and methods An experimental study in patients with glucocorticoids-induced decompensated diabetes admitted to a respiratory ward including a non-randomized control group. Two protocols (CP and GP), both based on basal-bolo insulin regimens, but with different insulin doses and distribution, were compared. The difference in mean blood glucose (MBG) levels between both protocols was measured during hospital stay, as was the risk of having MBG levels > 200 mg/dL, adjusted for potential confounding factors (related to patients and to the glucocorticoid therapy used). Results A total of 131 patients were included, 60 assigned to the GP and 71 to the CP groups. Seventy-four percent of patients had been admitted due to COPD exacerbation. There was a significant difference in the total daily insulin dose used between the CP and GP groups (29.4 vs. 57.4 IU; p  The adjusted difference in MBG levels (CP-GP) was −14.8 (95% CI, −26.2 to −3.3) mg/dL. Patients in the CP group had a lower adjusted risk of having MBG levels >200 mg/dL during hospital admission (OR = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.11–0.91; p = 0.033). There were no differences in the risk of severe hypoglycemia between the CP and GP groups (0% vs. 1.4%; p = 0.36). Conclusions The study protocol has been shown to decrease MBG levels in patients with glucocorticoids-induced decompensation of diabetes during hospital admission without compromising their safety.