TY - JOUR
T1 - The SQuID protocol (subcutaneous insulin in diabetic ketoacidosis)
T2 - Impacts on ED operational metrics
AU - Griffey, Richard T.
AU - Schneider, Ryan M.
AU - Girardi, Margo
AU - Yeary, Julianne
AU - McCammon, Craig
AU - Frawley, Laura
AU - Ancona, Rachel
AU - Cruz-Bravo, Paulina
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Background: Studies using fast-acting subcutaneous (SQ) insulin analogs in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) have demonstrated efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness, allowing treatment of mild-to-moderate (MTM)-severity DKA patients in non–intensive care unit (ICU) settings. However, emergency department (ED)-based studies are few, with limited exploration of impacts on operational metrics. Methods: We implemented the SQuID (Subcutaneous Insulin in Diabetic Ketoacidosis) protocol for adults with MTM-severity DKA in an urban academic ED, collecting data from August 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022. We examined fidelity (frequency of required q2h glucose checks), safety (proportion of patients administered rescue dextrose for hypoglycemia), and ED length of stay (EDLOS) for the SQuID cohort compared to patients (non-ICU) treated with a traditional insulin infusion. We also examined ICU admission rate among MTM-severity DKA patients after introduction of SQuID to two historical control periods (pre-intervention and pre-COVID). We used Mann–Whitney U to test for differences in EDLOS distributions, bootstrapped (n = 1000) confidence intervals (CIs) for EDLOS median differences, and the two-sample z-test for differences in ICU admissions. Results: We identified 177 MTM-severity DKA patients in the study period (78 SQuID, 99 traditional cohort) and 163 preintervention and 161 pre-COVID historical control patients. Fidelity to the SQuID pathway was good, with glucose checks exceeding the q2-h requirement. We found no difference in the proportion of rescue dextrose administration compared to the traditional pathway. We observed significant reductions in median EDLOS for the SQuID cohort compared to the traditional cohort during the study period (−3.0, 95% CI −8.5 to −1.4), the preintervention period (−1.4, 95% CI −3.1 to −0.1), and the pre-COVID control period (−3.6, 95% CI −7.5 to −1.8). Conclusions: In this single-center study at an academic ED, treatment of patients with MTM-severity DKA with a SQ insulin protocol was effective, demonstrated equivalent safety, and reduced ED length of stay.
AB - Background: Studies using fast-acting subcutaneous (SQ) insulin analogs in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) have demonstrated efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness, allowing treatment of mild-to-moderate (MTM)-severity DKA patients in non–intensive care unit (ICU) settings. However, emergency department (ED)-based studies are few, with limited exploration of impacts on operational metrics. Methods: We implemented the SQuID (Subcutaneous Insulin in Diabetic Ketoacidosis) protocol for adults with MTM-severity DKA in an urban academic ED, collecting data from August 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022. We examined fidelity (frequency of required q2h glucose checks), safety (proportion of patients administered rescue dextrose for hypoglycemia), and ED length of stay (EDLOS) for the SQuID cohort compared to patients (non-ICU) treated with a traditional insulin infusion. We also examined ICU admission rate among MTM-severity DKA patients after introduction of SQuID to two historical control periods (pre-intervention and pre-COVID). We used Mann–Whitney U to test for differences in EDLOS distributions, bootstrapped (n = 1000) confidence intervals (CIs) for EDLOS median differences, and the two-sample z-test for differences in ICU admissions. Results: We identified 177 MTM-severity DKA patients in the study period (78 SQuID, 99 traditional cohort) and 163 preintervention and 161 pre-COVID historical control patients. Fidelity to the SQuID pathway was good, with glucose checks exceeding the q2-h requirement. We found no difference in the proportion of rescue dextrose administration compared to the traditional pathway. We observed significant reductions in median EDLOS for the SQuID cohort compared to the traditional cohort during the study period (−3.0, 95% CI −8.5 to −1.4), the preintervention period (−1.4, 95% CI −3.1 to −0.1), and the pre-COVID control period (−3.6, 95% CI −7.5 to −1.8). Conclusions: In this single-center study at an academic ED, treatment of patients with MTM-severity DKA with a SQ insulin protocol was effective, demonstrated equivalent safety, and reduced ED length of stay.
KW - diabetic ketoacidosis
KW - emergency
KW - subcutaneous insulin
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149970404&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/acem.14685
DO - 10.1111/acem.14685
M3 - Article
C2 - 36775281
AN - SCOPUS:85149970404
SN - 1069-6563
VL - 30
SP - 800
EP - 808
JO - Academic Emergency Medicine
JF - Academic Emergency Medicine
IS - 8
ER -