| Objective
Hyperglycemia may occur in the patients affected by any kind of critical illness.
This complication makes an adverse effect on the clinical outcome of these
patients by causing polyneuropathy and myopathy. It has been recently shown
that treatment of hyperglycemia with insulin administration significantly reduces
the prevalence of critical illness polyneuropathy and myopathy (CIPNM) and
on the other hand reduces the demand for long-term mechanical ventilation in
the patients admitted to the ICU for more than 1 week. The aim of this study
was to determine the therapeutic effect of insulin in reducing the incidence of
CIPNM in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).
Materials & Methods
In this study, we recruited 30 patients admitted to the PICU of Tabriz Pediatric
Hospital. The incidence of CIPNM following hyperglycemia was evaluated in
these patients. The patients were categorized into two groups. In the case group,
blood sugar was controlled in the range of 140-180mg/dl by administration of
0.05 unit per kilogram body weight of insulin as drip protocol in an hour and in
the control group, placebo was used. Consequently, the incidence of CIPNM,
duration of PICU and duration of mechanical ventilation were compared
between the two groups.
Results
The incidence of CIPNM and duration of PICU stay and mechanical ventilation
were significantly reduced in the patients treated with insulin compared to the
control group Conclusion This study shows that blood sugar control decreases the incidence of CIPNM. |