“Basal Plus” Insulin Achieves Outcomes Similar to Those of Basal Bolus Therapy

Randomized, controlled trials in patients admitted to general medical and surgical services have shown that a basal bolus insulin regimen results in superior glycemic control and fewer complications than does sliding scale insulin (SSI; JW Hosp Med Apr 4 2011). Accordingly, in a recent consensus guideline, experts recommended that clinicians adopt the basal bolus regimen as the preferred approach in non–critically ill hospitalized patients (JW Hosp Med Apr 4 2011). However, some clinicians have been reluctant to use this approach because of its complexity and their fear of inducing hypoglycemia.

In a U.S. multicenter trial, researchers randomized 375 hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes to one of three insulin regimens:

• Basal bolus regi…