Research Investigates Link Between Blood Sugar Levels And Reduction In Child Deaths In ICUs

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 31 May 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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New research funded by the National Institute for Health Research's Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme will investigate whether controlling the blood sugar levels of children in intensive care helps reduce deaths and serious complications. The £1.4 million clinical trial, one of the largest of its kind, follows a study of adults in intensive care units (ICUs), which found that there were 43% fewer deaths and similar reductions in serious complications in adults receiving treatment to control their blood sugar levels. However it is unknown whether this form of blood sugar management will help children.

"Previous research findings raise pressing questions about the control of blood sugar levels in children who are receiving intensive care," says lead researcher Dr Duncan Macrae of the Royal Brompton Hospital. "It has been observed that blood sugar levels rise in adult patients, but babies and children are not small adults and it cannot be assumed that the benefits seen in adults will occur."

In the trial, Dr Macrae and his collaborators from the Paediatric Intensive Care Society Study Group will compare conventional versus strict control of blood sugar, using insulin. The trial will involve 1,500 babies and children up to 16 years of age, across 10 regional paediatric ICUs around the UK. A cost-effectiveness analysis will also be undertaken.

This research project has been commissioned as part of the HTA programme's work to support the Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN), set up to target the development of safe and effective medicines for the treatment of youngsters aged newborn to 18.

For more information about this project visit here. For more information about the medicines for children initiative visit this page

1. Conventional management of blood sugar levels in intensive care is to lower glucose levels with an intravenous infusion of insulin only if the glucose level exceeds approximately 12 mmol/l

2. Van den Berghe G, Wouters P, Weekers P Intensive Insulin Therapy in Critically Ill Patients., NEJM 345:1359-1367

3. The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes, with more than 360 projects published since its inception in 1993. About 50 are published each year, all available for download free of charge from the website. It is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton. Visit www.hta.ac.uk for more information.