Research investigates link between blood sugar levels and reduction in child deaths in ICUs
News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment
29 May 2007
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 £1.4million 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 www.hta.ac.uk/project/1533.asp. For more information about the medicines for children initiative visit http://www.hta.ac.uk/news/newsitem250805.shtml
Notes:
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
Van den Berghe G, Wouters P, Weekers P Intensive Insulin Therapy in Critically Ill Patients., NEJM 345:1359-1367
Notes for editors
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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 and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2007 Impact Factor (3.87) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
- The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk
Contact details
Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk
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Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk
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