Steroid-induced hyperglycemia (SIHG) has shown to independently increase the risk for mortality in patients with acute graft-versus-host disease, and it is still unclear whether SIHG might be a modifiable risk factor. Therefore, a feasibility trial was carried out aiming to evaluate the performance of a standardized decision support system (GlucoTab [GT]) for insulin therapy in patients with SIHG. A total of 10 hyperglycemic acute graft-versus-host disease patients were included and treated either with GT or standard of care during hospitalization. Follow-up duration was 6 months. Comparing the GT versus standard of care group, 364 versus 1,020 glucose readings were available during a median of 41 days (interquartile range [IQR] 22-89) and 101 days (IQR 55-147) of hospitalization. The median overall glucose levels were 151 mg/dL (123-192) versus 162 mg/dL (IQR 138-193) for GT and standard of care, respectively (P < 0.001); hypoglycemia rates were comparably low. Treatment of SIHG with an algorithm-based system for subcutaneous insulin was feasible and safe.
Keywords: Decision support system; Feasibility trial; Steroid-induced hyperglycemia.
© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes Investigation published by Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.