Diabetes workshops for providers improve glucose control in coronary artery bypass grafting patients

Postoperative hyperglycemia occurs in up to 80% of cardiac surgery patients and is associated with poor outcomes. We sought to determine if case-based diabetes workshops for providers would improve postoperative glycemic control and outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting  (CABG).

Healthcare providers taking care of patients in the cardiothoracic step-down unit underwent 30-min weekly case-based diabetes workshops over 6 months. Workshops focused on initiation of insulin treatment, titration of insulin dosing, and transitioning from insulin drips to subcutaneous insulin. Isolated-CABG patients were recorded during 29-month periods before (Jan 2013-June 2015) and after training (Jan 2016-June 2018). Glycemic control and outcomes were compared between groups balanced for preoperative risk factors using inverse probability treatment weights.

A total of 938 and 1032 patients were included in pre- and posttraining groups, respectively. Compared to the pretraining period, the posttraining period had a lower median of mean patient day glucose levels (151 vs. 144 mg/dl, p < .001) and percentage of patient days with a glucose level >250 mg/dl (20% vs. 14%, p < .001). The percentage of patient days with mean glucose values in the target range (80-180 mg/dl) increased from 71% to 77% (p < .001). The incidence of hypoglycemic events did not significantly change after training (p = .15). The incidence of sepsis was significantly lower in the posttraining period (1.7% vs. 0.2%, p < .001).

Weekly diabetes workshops for healthcare providers were associated with improved glycemic control and reduced postoperative sepsis among isolated CABG patients.