Category: Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Keywords: diabetic ketoacidosis, insulin, glargine, DKA (PubMed Search)
Posted: 6/29/2015 by Bryan Hayes, PharmD
(Updated: 7/4/2015)
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Transitioning Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) patients off an insulin infusion can be challenging. If a long-acting insulin, such as glargine or levemir, is not administered at the correct time to provide extended coverage, patients can revert back into DKA.
Pilot Study
A prospective, randomized, controlled pilot study in 40 patients evaluated administration of glargine within 2 hours of insulin infusion initiation compared to waiting until the anion gap (AG) had closed.
What they did
What they found
Mean time to closure of AG, mean hospital LOS, incidents of hypoglycemia, rates of ICU admission, and ICU LOS were all similar between the groups.
Application to Clinical Practice
Although just a pilot study (using a convenience sample), early glargine administration seemed to be absorbed adequately (based on time to AG closure) and was not associated with increased risk of hypoglycemia. If confirmed in a larger study, this technique could help optimize care of DKA patients in the ED by eliminating the often-mismanaged transition step later on.
Doshi P, et al. Prospective randomized trial of insulin glargine in acute management of diabetic ketoacidosis in the emergency department: a pilot study. Acad Emerg Med 2015;22(6):657-62. [PMID 26013711]
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