2019 Guidelines for Diabetes Care in the Hospital

Background

The ADA annually updates its evidence-graded recommendations; this guideline provides standards of care for hospitalized patients with diabetes or hyperglycemia.

Key Recommendations

• Initiate insulin therapy for blood glucose (BG) levels ≥180 mg/dL in most hospitalized patients, with target BG range of 140–180 mg/dL. (Evidence grade: A)

• Recommended insulin regimens for hospitalized patients with diabetes or hyperglycemia:

  • Inpatients with adequate nutritional intake: basal + prandial + correction insulin. (Evidence grade: A)

  • Inpatients with poor nutritional intake or taking nothing by mouth: basal + correction insulin. (Evidence grade: A)

  • Sliding-scale insulin alone is strongly …