Episodes of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia during the use of sliding scale insulin in hospitalized diabetes patients

Background. Sliding scale insulin is frequently utilized in hospitalized diabetes patients. However, most of the studies done concluded that sliding scale insulin causes hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia episodes in patients receiving it. Objective: To assess the rate of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia in diabetes patients receiving sliding scale insulin. Method. Data was collected prospectively for 3 months and a total number of 52 patients were included. Rates of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia episodes during the use of the sliding scale insulin were evaluated. Results: The rates of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia episodes were 19.7 and 0.7 per 100 glucose measurements respectively. There were an equal number of patients with uncontrolled diabetes and acute hyperglycemia receiving sliding scale insulin. Conclusion: Hyperglycemia episodes were more prominent than hypoglycemia episodes in diabetes patients receiving sliding scale insulin. The rate of hyperglycemia was much higher than the previous studies.