HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS GUIDE TO DIABETES

Course overview

Diabetes affects nearly 24 million people in the United States, and an estimated 57 million have prediabetes. On any given day, 26% of all hospitalized patients meet the criteria for the diagnosis of diabetes. People with diabetes are often admitted to the hospital for problems other than diabetes, and too often their diabetes is poorly managed during the hospitalization, especially early in the admission. Among hospitalized patients, more than 38% have hyperglycemia and 26% have diabetes. Poor glycemic control has been associated with increased mortality and contributes to acute complications and longer, more costly hospital stays. Conditions for which patients require hospitalization may result in surgery, infection, and inactivity, which are among the factors that can increase blood glucose levels because of physiologic stress. Therefore, blood glucose levels in the hospital require more intensive management than that provided by the patient's home treatment regimen. Some of the new medication treatments include: the use of multiple oral agents, the combination of oral agents and insulin, new injectable medications, changes in recommendations for insulin storage and injection technique, new continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion devices (insulin pumps), and patient self-adjustment of insulin doses. This course will provide an overview of the types of diabetes, diagnostic criteria and managing the hospital inpatient diabetic, including the latest treatment options.