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Minerva Anestesiologica 2013 January;79(1):74-82

Copyright © 2013 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Glucose and insulin administration while maintaining normoglycemia: the GIN concept

Carvalho G., Lattermann R., Codere-Maruyama T., Schricker T. ✉

Department of Anesthesia, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

The benefits of tight glucose control in critically ill and surgical patients remains a subject of debate. While some studies demonstrated a survival benefit associated with intensive insulin therapy, more recent studies have failed to demonstrate this correlation. On the contrary, the difficulty in achieving normoglycemia with the conventional insulin sliding scale protocols and a rising concern for severe hypoglycemic episodes associated with this strategy keep many clinicians skeptical. This article examines the use of hyperinsulinemic-normoglycemic clamping, or glucose-insulin-normoglycemia (GIN) therapy, a novel approach to achieve normoglycemia in the perioperative period. If properly applied, this therapy potentially reduces the morbidity and mortality associated with hyperglycemia and confers the pharmacological advantages of hyperinsulinemia. Further understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms, as well as the development of a continuous intravenous glucose monitoring device would facilitate the routine clinical use of GIN therapy.