Discussion
In the present study, we demonstrated that using a weight-based insulin titration algorithm achieved the BG targets in the same period as using the glucose-based algorithm in hospitalized patients with poorly controlled T2DM. Both algorithms achieved 4-point BG targets in 4 days. Concurrently, the TDD was about 1 unit/kg/day. This was higher than that reported by Liu et al, that is, 0.8 unit/kg/day,26 which included newly diagnosed patients receiving continual subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) treatment and had no stress condition.
Based on the physiological insulin secretion pattern,13 the TDD was divided as 1:1 for basal and three boluses at the initiation in this study. However, the ratio was about 2:3 in both groups at the end of interventions, which was similar to the study by Liu et al using CSII26 in newly diagnosed patients with T2DM. There were two explanations for this ratio (2:3). First, although aspart is known as a short-acting insulin, it is sufficient for >5 hours.27 The ‘tail’ contributes to basal insulin. Second, this corresponds to the carbohydrate supply of up to 67% of the total calories in the daily Chinese diet.28 A study conducted in the Latin American non-intensive care unit patients with T2DM using basal-bolus also showed a ratio of about 2:3 (glargine 22 unit/day and glulisine 31 unit/day).16
Next, we analyzed the ratio of three boluses. Surprisingly, the three boluses were almost 1:1:1, although patients ingested different calories in three meals. Polonsky et al showed that the total amount of insulin secreted after each of the meals did not differ in both normal patients and patients with obesity, although patients consumed 20% of the total calories with breakfast and 40% with lunch and dinner, respectively. Similar quantities of insulin were secreted in response to each of the three meals.21 This phenomenon corroborated to the starting ratio of several basal-bolus trials, in which the three boluses were equal.7 11 14 15
In order to simplify our algorithm, we did not use correction insulin, although it was a standard part of the basal-bolus algorithm.1 Correction insulin was recommended by an expert consensus. However, few randomized clinical trials had evaluated the safety and efficacy of correcting mild hyperglycemia before meals and bedtime.14 Vellanki et al demonstrated that at least bedtime insulin correction for the treatment of mild-to-moderate hyperglycemia may not be necessary.14 Moreover, the correction insulin tries to retrospectively ‘treat’ rather than prospectively ‘prevent’ the hyperglycemia.29
Several theories have been put forth for fixed weight-based doses, which had similar effects as flexible glucose-based doses. First, weight represents insulin sensitivity. The heavier the person, the more likely he or she is to be insulin resistant.30 It has been found that obesity predicts a poor treatment response to insulin, irrespective of the insulin treatment algorithm, in patients with T2DM.31 Second, the administration of OHAs established a significant correlation between baseline HbA1c and decreased HbA1c.32 33 The present study showed that insulin also exhibited similar characteristics. A fixed insulin dose exerts different effects in patients with different baseline HbA1c levels. Third, hospitalized patients intake fixed amount of meals daily. Fourth, body weight decides the amount of meals intake and the amount one ingests.34
Hypoglycemia is one of the main concerns for antidiabetic treatment, especially for insulin. The incidence of hypoglycemia was similar between the two groups, and no severe hypoglycemia was found. In this regard, weight-based algorithm is proved to be safe for hospitalized patients with T2DM.
A recent survey found that practitioners were not comfortable with the use of insulin.35 To overcome clinical inertia, many tools, including electronic instrument,36 basal-bolus insulin therapy (BBIT) knowledge translation toolkit37 and ‘insulin‐on‐board’ calculators,38 are designed. Since the weight-based insulin titration protocol is not hard to remember and execute, we suggest that it may provide an effective tool for physicians, especially those not in the endocrinology department, to better control hyperglycemia.
In conclusion, we designed a weight-based insulin titration algorithm, which titrated fixed insulin dose daily. The algorithm is equally effective and safe in hospitalized patients with T2DM compared with glucose-based algorithm.
Nevertheless, the present study has several limitations. First, all the included patients had regular diets. Therefore, whether the algorithm is suitable for patients with parenteral nutrition remains to be defined. Second, we did not compare our algorithm with the standard basal-bolus algorithm with correction insulin. Third, we initiated the protocol with basal-bolus 1:1 and ended with 2:3. Whether titration with basal-bolus 2:3 is better than 1:1 in the clinical setting needs to be investigated further by randomized clinical trials. Fourth, the subjects included in this study were from the same ethnic origin and the mean BMI values of these patients were relatively low (<25 kg/m2). Finally, most patients in this study were admitted with uncontrolled hyperglycemia (mean HbA1c>10%). Therefore, researches in other populations and in patients with relatively lower glycemic levels are required to further determine the efficacy of the new algorithm.