How long is the drip continued?
A. Duration of insulin infusion is as important as target ranfe in determining outcomes. Continue the drip until the glucose is consistently within the target range (currently less than 110 mg/dl) off of the drip or until 7 a.m. on the third postoperative day for surgical patients who have transferred out of the ICU. Patients who remain in the ICU for longer than 3 PODs should remain on the drip as long as they are in the intensive care unit. If one chooses not to employ insulin infusions according to thesetemporal guidelines – e.g. to use them only in the ICU but not on the floor until the 3rd POD; or to use them only for 3 PODs in patients who stay in the ICU longer than 3 PODs – then that institution may reduce the infection and mortality rates somewhat, but it is unlikely that they will “normalize” the diabetic infection and mortality rates to that of the nondiabetic population. 6. Who gets started on The Portland Protocol and when? Is every diabetic patient supposed to be started
