Glycemic control in patients receiving insulin critics: integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To discuss the knowledge produced on glycemic control for critically ill patients receiving continuous insulin infusion. Method: Integrative review of publications in the literature bases Ovid, Scopus and Science that dealt with continuous insulin infusion in hospitalized patients from 2003 to 2013 and full text available online. Selected eleven publications. Results: Glycemic control with intravenous insulin showed higher rates of hypoglycemia despite allowing achieve faster target goal and computerized protocols are effective resources to prevent hypoglycemic events though expensive and still not available on the Brazilian reality. Conclusion: It is important for nurses to provide input on the implications of severe hypoglycemia during continuous infusion of insulin for the control of risks in nursing care processes.