According to CDC data, the incidence of diabetes in the United States in the year 2015 was 30.3 million and predicted to increase yearly with an already prediabetic population of 84 million.[1] Prevalence of diabetes is highest in the Alaska Native and Native American population, followed by African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Whites, respectively.[1] Diabetes classification is as either being type 1, an autoimmune disorder or type 2. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is due to the immune-mediated destruction of beta-pancreatic cells, insulin-producing cells. These patients have a deficiency of insulin; therefore patients depend on lifelong exogenous administration of insulin to maintain euglycemia. Type 1 diabetes "aka juvenile diabetes" patients are younger and commonly diagnosed during their teens; frequently at the time of diagnosis patients are admitted because they are concomitantly in a diabetic ketoacidosis state, severe metabolic derangement. Type 2 diabetes aka "adult-onset diabetes" was once a disease found in the older population but now with an increasing rate of obesity, this is now a disease that afflicts anyone from children to geriatrics. Type 2 diabetes is due to peripheral insulin resistance or decreased amount of insulin secretion. Although there is no consensus on the mechanism, it is postulated that intracellular concentration of fatty acid metabolites activates a serine kinase cascade, which leads to defects in insulin signaling downstream to the insulin receptor.[1] At the time of diagnosis over 60% of pancreatic beta cells may have lost function.[2] Eventually, patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 can experience the complete destruction of pancreatic beta cells and become dependent on exogenous insulin. In most cases, patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes will be managed with oral hypoglycemic agents but also encouraged to change lifestyle. Studies have shown better glycemic control with caloric restriction and weight loss.[3]
Surgery and acute illness are stressors that alter homeostasis and lead to hyperglycemia. Stress conditions raise counter-regulatory hormones such as glucagon, epinephrine, cortisol, and growth hormones. This process leads to insulin resistance, increased hepatic glucose production, impaired peripheral glucose utilization, and relative insulin deficiency.[4] Epinephrine stimulates glucagon secretion and inhibits insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells.[5] Additionally, the increased level in stress hormones leads to enhanced lipolysis and high free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations. Increased FFA correlates with inhibiting insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and limit the intracellular signaling cascade in skeletal muscle responsible for glucose transport activity.[4] Hyperglycemia leads to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 6, and interleukin 1B.[6] In addition, hyperglycemia has been shown to impair leukocyte function and to limit phagocytosis, chemotaxis, and bacterial destruction.[7] Hyperglycemia leads to increased reactive oxygen species that can result in direct cellular damage, vascular, and immune dysfunction. Hyperglycemia leads to increased platelet aggregation and a prothrombotic state, partly attributable to oxidative stress.[8]
Diagnosis of diabetes is when a patient meets one of the following criteria[9]:
There are no strict guidelines to canceling a surgical case due to hyperglycemia. The Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) recommends canceling a case if a patient is experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar non-ketotic state, or severe dehydration.[10] On the day of surgery, if a patient has a blood sugar over 140, blood glucose should be monitored every 2 hours intraoperatively with a point of care glucose via arterial line or venous blood from a peripheral intravenous line. If a patient has a blood glucose level greater than or equal to 180 and is critically ill, an IV insulin drip should be initiated.[11] Starting dose of insulin drip (units/hour) can be calculated with blood glucose/100 and titrated according to table 1.[4] The half-life of insulin is 35 minutes so it titrates easily and blood sugar should monitoring should occur hourly. Those who are not critically ill and having a short procedure (less than 4 hours) that does not anticipate large fluid shifts it is preferable to use rapid-acting subcutaneous (SC) insulin. Table 2 below gives guidance as to how to dose SC insulin the day of surgery for those who are insulin sensitive (no history of diabetes), insulin resistant (those with a total daily dose (TDD) insulin exceeding 80 units, BMI greater than 35, prednisone greater than 20mg), and usual insulin (all others).[4]
Control of hyperglycemia intraoperatively is of great importance because there is a 50% increase in morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus compared to patients without diabetes mellitus.[12] Research correlates perioperative hyperglycemia with increased hospital and intensive care unit length of stay, and higher numbers of postoperative cases of pneumonia, systemic blood infection, urinary tract infection, acute renal failure, and acute myocardial infarction.[12] Hypokalemia is an associated complication of hyperglycemia treatment with insulin, especially with coinciding diabetic ketoacidosis. Insulin drives potassium extracellular and hydrogen ions intracellular. Excess potassium is lost in urine due to osmotic diuresis. Other derangements include hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, and QT prolongation.[13] Other life-threatening complications of insulin use include hypoglycemia. Those treated with tight glycemic control were five times as likely to experience severe hypoglycemia (blood glucose less than 40mg/dL) postoperatively in comparison to liberal glucose treatment.[14] Symptoms of hypoglycemia include tremors, sweating, dizziness, light-headedness, seizures, and loss of consciousness. Intraoperatively hypoglycemia can cause a delay in emergence from anesthesia until exogenous glucose is administered to normalize blood sugar.[15]
There is no agreement among the anesthesiology community exactly what the standard of care for blood glucose levels should be, but there is consensus to aim for blood glucose levels below 180; more aggressive goals may cause hypoglycemia. Recent metanalysis revealed there is no difference in mortality in patients treated with very tight glucose control (BG less than 110), tight glucose control (111 to 150), and liberal blood glucose control (BG less than 220).[14] There was a decrease in adverse events in the tight glucose control group for surgical site infection, acute kidney injury, sepsis, and atrial fibrillation.
Each institution should develop its own standardized protocol for hyperglycemia for use in the pre-op area, intraoperative, and the post-anesthesia care unit to ensure perioperative glucose control. Communication amongst an interprofessional group is necessary as surgeons, anesthesiologists, intensivists, internal medicine providers, pharmacists, and nurses are all closely involved in patient care. Most patients will be coming either from the main floor or ICU so there should be a good handoff.
[1] | Saini V, Molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus. World journal of diabetes. 2010 Jul 15; [PubMed PMID: 21537430] |
[2] | Cerf ME, Beta cell dysfunction and insulin resistance. Frontiers in endocrinology. 2013; [PubMed PMID: 23542897] |
[3] | Henry RR,Scheaffer L,Olefsky JM, Glycemic effects of intensive caloric restriction and isocaloric refeeding in noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 1985 Nov; [PubMed PMID: 4044780] |
[4] | Duggan EW,Carlson K,Umpierrez GE, Perioperative Hyperglycemia Management: An Update. Anesthesiology. 2017 Mar; [PubMed PMID: 28121636] |
[5] | McDonnell ME,Umpierrez GE, Insulin therapy for the management of hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients. Endocrinology and metabolism clinics of North America. 2012 Mar; [PubMed PMID: 22575413] |
[6] | Hotamisligil GS,Murray DL,Choy LN,Spiegelman BM, Tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibits signaling from the insulin receptor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1994 May 24; [PubMed PMID: 8197147] |
[7] | Delamaire M,Maugendre D,Moreno M,Le Goff MC,Allannic H,Genetet B, Impaired leucocyte functions in diabetic patients. Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association. 1997 Jan; [PubMed PMID: 9017350] |
[8] | Yamagishi SI,Edelstein D,Du XL,Brownlee M, Hyperglycemia potentiates collagen-induced platelet activation through mitochondrial superoxide overproduction. Diabetes. 2001 Jun; [PubMed PMID: 11375352] |
[9] | 2. Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes: {i}Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2018{/i}. Diabetes care. 2018 Jan; [PubMed PMID: 29222373] |
[10] | Joshi GP,Chung F,Vann MA,Ahmad S,Gan TJ,Goulson DT,Merrill DG,Twersky R, Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia consensus statement on perioperative blood glucose management in diabetic patients undergoing ambulatory surgery. Anesthesia and analgesia. 2010 Dec; [PubMed PMID: 20889933] |
[11] | Duggan EW,Klopman MA,Berry AJ,Umpierrez G, The Emory University Perioperative Algorithm for the Management of Hyperglycemia and Diabetes in Non-cardiac Surgery Patients. Current diabetes reports. 2016 Mar; [PubMed PMID: 26971119] |
[12] | Frisch A,Chandra P,Smiley D,Peng L,Rizzo M,Gatcliffe C,Hudson M,Mendoza J,Johnson R,Lin E,Umpierrez GE, Prevalence and clinical outcome of hyperglycemia in the perioperative period in noncardiac surgery. Diabetes care. 2010 Aug; [PubMed PMID: 20435798] |
[13] | Johansen NJ,Christensen MB, A Systematic Review on Insulin Overdose Cases: Clinical Course, Complications and Treatment Options. Basic [PubMed PMID: 29316226] |
[14] | Kang ZQ,Huo JL,Zhai XJ, Effects of perioperative tight glycemic control on postoperative outcomes: a meta-analysis. Endocrine connections. 2018 Dec 1; [PubMed PMID: 30120204] |
[15] | Misal US,Joshi SA,Shaikh MM, Delayed recovery from anesthesia: A postgraduate educational review. Anesthesia, essays and researches. 2016 May-Aug; [PubMed PMID: 27212741] |