Frequent blood sugar measurement

In Denmark and other countries, 15-20 % of patients in hospital have diabetes. Management of diabetes can be difficult when focus is particularly directed on the primary disease for which the patient was admitted.

“As a result their blood sugar level is often too high or too low, resulting among other things in increased mortality and a longer time in hospital. A new approach is therefore needed for managing diabetes in patients in hospital,” explains Mikkel Thor Olsen, MD and PhD student at the Department of endocrinology and Nephrology, Nordsjællands Hospital.

Together with colleagues he will investigate whether close monitoring of blood sugar every five minutes with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology and a diabetes emergency team (of trained diabetes nurses) leads to better treatment of diabetes in hospitalised patients with type 2 diabetes, compared with standard finger-prick measurements taken 3-5 times daily.

The support of the Vissing Foundation will make it possible to investigate this area, where there are no existing studies. Our study can potentially optimise the patient’s prognosis, reduce time in hospital, make better use of health-care resources, and save time for health-care staff,” says Mikkel Thor Olsen.