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Updated: May 12, 2026

Improving IV Insulin Administration in a Community Hospital
Published on: June 11, 2012
Omitting Follow-up Food After Initial Hypoglycaemic Treatment Does not Increase the Likelihood of Repeat
Sally Vindedzis1, Beryl Marsh, Jill Sherriff
1Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Royal Perth Hospital, GPO Box X2213, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia, sally.vindedzis@postgrad.curtin.edu.au.
Introduction:
Guidelines for self-treatment of hypoglycaemia specify initial treatment with quick-acting carbohydrate until blood glucose levels normalize and then follow-up with longer-acting carbohydrate. The few studies investigating follow-up show 29-57% omission or undertreatment with follow-up carbohydrate but do not investigate the association of this with repeat hypoglycaemia. This study aimed to develop, validate and administer a questionnaire to delineate this association. The timeframe targeted was 2 h post primary hypoglycaemic event (PPHE), the time influenced by long-acting carbohydrate.
Methods:
A questionnaire was generated, test-retest reliability assessed, and it was piloted on convenience samples from the target population. The final version was administered to all insulin-treated individuals attending an outpatient diabetes clinic over 4 weeks (169).
Results:
Questionnaire development: readability (69.6-standard/easy), test-retest reliability (Cohen's kappa 0.57-0.91) and return rate (72.2%) were all acceptable. Questionnaire data: questionnaires were returned by 122 participants (63 males/59 females). Method of insulin administration was subcutaneous insulin injections (91%) and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) (9%). Repeat hypoglycaemia within 2 h PPHE was reported by 8.2% of respondents. There was no significant difference for age, gender and diabetes duration between those reporting repeat hypoglycaemia and those without. Consumption of follow-up longer-acting carbohydrate was reported by 58.2% of responders with 48% of these using long-acting and 52% medium-acting carbohydrate foods. Method of insulin administration and consumption of follow-up food were significantly associated with repeat hypoglycaemia (P = 0.015, 0.039) but presence or absence of symptoms and duration of action of carbohydrate were not significantly associated (P = 0.103, 0.629). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis showed omission of follow-up food PPHE was not a significant predictor of increased likelihood of repeat hypoglycaemia within 2 h PPHE, irrespective of method of insulin administration (P = 0.085).
Conclusion:
This study supports guidelines that recommend judicious, rather than routine use of follow-up longer-acting carbohydrate PPHE.
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