Management of inpatient hyperglycemia: assessing knowledge and barriers to better care among residents

Abstract

To identify areas that should be targeted for improvement, we surveyed residents for their knowledge and barriers regarding management of inpatient hyperglycemia. One hundred thirty-five residents from 4 teaching hospitals completed a questionnaire to assess their knowledge about the different types of insulin, the perceived barriers toward managing inpatient hyperglycemia, and the problems they face when dealing with this commonly encountered problem. The majority of participants thought that managing inpatient hyperglycemia was very important in the critically ill and perioperative patients, whereas only 65% thought that it was very important for noncritically ill patients. Most residents reported that they will target blood glucose levels that are inconsistent with the current recommendations. Half of them reported that they were very comfortable with managing inpatient hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. Of the participants, 46% said they will use a stand-alone insulin sliding scale for patients with difficult to control blood glucose and 43% thought that physicians still use it because of their unfamiliarity with ordering prandial and basal insulin. Unpredictable changes in patient diet and mealtimes, along with the risk of causing patient hypoglycemia, were the most frequently chosen as barriers to better management of inpatient hyperglycemia. Most participants lack important inpatient hyperglycemia knowledge, specifically about insulin types and pharmacokinetics. This study demonstrated the gap in knowledge about management of inpatient hyperglycemia among residents and illustrated the need to develop certain policies and to implement educational programs directed toward residents that reflect the current guidelines.