Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Improving IV Insulin Administration in a Community Hospital
Published on: June 11, 2012
Are glucose readings sufficient to adjust insulin dosage?
Eran Bashan1, William H Herman, Israel Hodish
1Hygieia, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Aims/Hypothesis:
insulin therapy is effective predominantly when dosage is frequently adjusted. However, a controversy surrounds the pertinent clinical parameters required to make effective and safe frequent dosage adjustments. We hypothesize that glucose readings are sufficient to adjust insulin dosage provided that dosage is adjusted every 1-4 weeks.
Methods:
to test the hypothesis, we generated several algorithms implemented in software to process glucose readings and recommend insulin dosage adjustments. A post hoc analysis was made on 630 log sheets (2,520 insulin dosage adjustments) from 26 older adults with suboptimally controlled type 2 diabetes. The subjects were followed for a year and treated with intensive insulin therapy that was titrated every 1-4 weeks by a trained study team. More than 88% of subjects attained the treatment goal (hemoglobin A1c <7%) without excessive hypoglycemia. Glucose readings from each log sheet were used as an input to the software, and its recommendations for insulin dosage adjustments were compared to the original ones made by the study team. While the study team could have been exposed to multiple clinical parameters, the software relied solely on glucose readings.
Results:
the software recommendations for dosage adjustments were clinically equivalent to the original study team's recommendations in more than 95% of the cases, unrelated to patients' insulin sensitivity. The remaining 4.4% (n = 111) were thoroughly examined, yet we did not find any recommendations suggested by the software to be unsafe or unreasonable.
Conclusions/Interpretation:
glucose readings are sufficient to effectively adjust insulin dosage provided that adjustments are made every 1-4 weeks. Therefore, dedicated software can help adjusting insulin dosage between clinic visits.
More Related Videos
08:32Studying the Hypothalamic Insulin Signal to Peripheral Glucose Intolerance with a Continuous Drug Infusion System into the Mouse Brain
Published on: January 4, 2018
08:13Study of In Vivo Glucose Metabolism in High-fat Diet-fed Mice Using Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and Insulin Tolerance Test (ITT)
Published on: January 7, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Insulin: Dosing Regimen and Adverse Effects
The basal dose constitutes about 40%-50% of the total daily dose, with the rest as premeal insulin. The mealtime insulin dose should mirror...
Hypoglycemia and Glucagon
Hormones Regulating Blood Glucose
In addition to accelerating glucose uptake and utilization, insulin has...
Hyperglycemia
Glucose Homeostasis: Regulation of Blood Glucose
During fasting, when blood glucose levels are low, the pancreas secretes glucagon. it...
Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational