Patients with heart failure often have high blood sugar (glucose).
Patients with heart failure often have high blood sugar. High glucose contributes to severe hospital complications and even death. Studies suggest that heart failure patients who have high glucose or diabetes do not live as long as patients with normal glucose. In this study, we will determine whether normalizing blood sugars using intravenous insulin short-term will improve outcomes in patients hospitalized for congestive heart failure. We enrolled patients with severe heart failure and randomly assigned them into 2 groups. We used intravenous (given through the vein) insulin to lower blood sugar levels in group 1, and insulin injections in group 2. We determined whether intravenous insulin improved hospital length of stay, rates of readmission, inflammatory markers, and cardiovascular tests that predict mortality in patients with heart failure.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
74
Half of subjects will receive insulin through the intravenous route while the other half will receive 4 injections per day.
Half of subjects will receive insulin through the intravenous route while the other half will receive 4 injections per day.
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Hospital Length of Stay
Duration of hospitalization in days
Time frame: Days
Hospital Readmission
All-cause hospital readmission at 30 days after discharge
Time frame: 30 days
Heart Rate Variability
High frequency (HF) Heart rate variability (HRV). HRV was assessed with a Bionex system (Mindware, Gahanna, OH). The electrocardiogram was performed in the standard lead II configuration and impedance cardiography was performed using a standard tetrapolar arrangement. Measures were performed at baseline and each morning (0800-1000 hour) during and following the intervention for 7 minutes each. Software (Mindware, Gahanna, OH) was used to derive HF HRV. The middle five minutes of the recordings were scored minute by minute and the first suitable1 minute period was used for calculation. Five minute epochs were not feasible due to an unexpectedly high frequency of ectopy. One minute intervals allow calculation of HF (parasympathetic tone) but not low frequency (combination of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone).
Time frame: 72 hours
Change in Quality of Life
Change in Quality of Life questionnaire measured from baseline (enrollment) to 30 days following discharge. The questionnaire is a self-administered disease-specific questionnaire for patients with HF, comprising 21 items rated on six-point Likert scales, representing different degrees of impact of HF on health related quality of life, from 0 (none) to 5 (very much). It provides a total score (range 0-105, from best to worst HRQoL),
Time frame: 30 day
Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP)
Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) was measured at day 3
Time frame: 72 hours
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Cardiac Output
Cardiac output measured using impedance cardiography at 72 hours.
Time frame: 72 hours