Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: The purpose was to describe the glycemic control of hospitalized patients treated with sliding scale insulin (SSI) and correlate glycemic episodes to other factors. Methods: The records of 315 patients admitted to a private, 166-bed hospital between August 25 and November 30, 2004 were identified from orders for antidiabetic medications then screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria. 135 of these patients met the criteria for inclusion in this study and their charts were reviewed for demographic data, medical history, medication regimens, blood glucose measurements and SSI use during hospitalization. Hypoglycemia was defined as less than or equal to 50 mg/dL and hyperglycemia greater than 250 mg/dL. Results: Orders for SSI were written for 93% of diabetic patients admitted. 2,904 blood glucose fingerstick measurements were recorded: 15.9% were greater than 250 mg/dL and 0.689% were under 50 mg/dL. The only statistically significant result was the correlation between increased numbers of hyperglycemic episodes and the consumption of the hospital’s “diabetic diet,” p<0.001. The small group of patients admitted for cellulitis (N=6) also experienced more hyperglycemic episodes. There was a trend approaching significance, p=0.055, for an increased number of hyperglycemic episodes in patients with admission blood glucose value over 200 mg/dL. Results based upon the hospital’s standard SSI regimen were not significantly different from other variations of SSI. Implications: SSI was almost always prescribed for hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes and this regimen resulted in poor glucose control in approximately 17% of fingerstick measurements.

Managing diabetes in the geriatric long-term care population can be challenging, yet important because diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease. The purpose of this project was to identify clinical practice guidelines for managing Type 2 diabetes in geriatric veterans and to develop a class to educate providers on diabetes management in the geriatric long-term care population at a community living and rehabilitation center. The practice focused question asked if providing education to providers about the clinical practice guidelines for managing Type 2 diabetes in geriatric long-term care veterans would improve knowledge as measured by a pre- and posttest. The project was based on the stage theory of organizational change and focused on the goal of improving diabetes management in the long-term care geriatric population by using clinical practice guidelines. The American Medical Directors Association's and Diabetes Association's updated clinical practice guidelines and systematic review literature on diabetes provided the evidence to support the educational project. A pretest, posttest, and summative evaluation were used to evaluate the project. A paired t test was used to compare the pretest and posttest scores for all participants. Posttest results showed a significant improvement in provider knowledge compared to pretest scores (t = -4.416, df = 12, p < .01). Participant evaluation of the program showed that the goals and objectives were met, content was understandable, and presentation was professional. The findings of the project may be beneficial at the organizational level to promote positive social change by improved management of diabetes in the geriatric long-term care population, thus potentially decreasing unwanted side effects and improving geriatric veteran health.