Intensive Care Medicine

If you are reading this you are probably not a patient in an intensive care unit (ICU). However, if you have a family member or friend in this situation, know that many of these patients have an elevated blood glucose concentration, even if there is no prior history of diabetes. All seriously ill ICU patients with even slightly elevated blood glucose levels should have the blood glucose level tightly controlled with intravenous insulin to within 80 – 110 mg/100ml. This treatment decreases infection and death rates in these patients.