Electronic ArticleInfluence of smart real-time electronic alerting on glucose control in critically ill patients

PurposeHyperglycemia and hypoglycemia are frequently encountered in critically ill patients and associated with adverse outcomes. We configured a smart glycemia alert (S-GLY alert) with our Intensive Care Information System to decrease the number of hyperglycemic values and increase the proportion of time within the glucose interval of 80 to 150 mg/dL.Materials and MethodsProspective intervention study in surgical intensive care unit in a tertiary care hospital. An 11-week prealert phase was followed by a 15-week intervention phase where the S-GLY alert was alerting the nurses through the Clinical Notification System of the Intensive Care Information System.ResultsOverall, 2335 S-GLY alerts were recorded. There were less hyperglycemic values and less persistent hyperglycemic episodes in the alert phase (19.5% vs 26.5% [P < .001] and 9.9% vs 15.4% [P < .001], respectively). More time was spent within target glucose interval (82.3% vs 75.0%, P = .009). A lower proportion of patients experienced a new-onset hypoglycemic event (< 70 mg/dL) in the alert phase (9.2% vs 15.2%, P = .016). The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was significantly reduced (5.2 vs 4.2, P < .001).ConclusionsThe implementation of a real-time smart electronic glycemia alert resulted in significantly less episodes of persistent hyperglycemia and a higher proportion of time with normoglycemia, while decreasing the number of hypoglycemic events.