Question

Dr. Baker has written the following order for your post surgical patient, Matthew Smith,who has a long history of poorly controlled diabetes.

Accuchecks: 0800, 1200, 1700, 2200

SQ sliding scale: regular insulin as per protocol. Matthew Smith is classified by her physician as being moderately insulin resistant (as per protocol).

Matthew's blood sugar at 0800 was 225, how much insulin will you administer to him?

Answer 1

Sliding scale is one of the most common method to treat hospitalized patients  with diabetes . The term 'sliding scale' refers to the increasing administration of the pre-meal insulin dose based on the blood sugar level before the meal.

For this patient blood sugar is 225 mg/dl and patient belong to the category of moderately insulin resistant .so according to the sliding scale regular insulin 4 unit to 12 unit can be given .According to the category of moderate resistant 8 units of insulin is acceptable for this patient