Insulin for Hyperglycemia in Stroke Trial

Summary

Introduction: Glycemic control in acutely ill stroke patients with hyperglycemia is vital. Although insulin is the choice of anti-diabetic agent during acute stage, it is not clear which insulin regimen is better in terms of glycemic control and prevention of hypoglycemia in hospitalized acute stroke patients who are usually on small frequent nasogastric tube feeding. The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of human insulin (regular insulin and neutral protamine hagedorn, NPH insulin) to analog insulin (basal insulin glargine and rapid acting insulin aspart) in hospitalized acute stroke patients with hyperglycemia.

Justification: Analog insulins are developed by minor alteration of the amino acid chain which alters their pharmacokinetics and make them more physiological. However, these insulins are costly and are not widely available. Conventional human insulins are more commonly used in our country. Comparison of these two regimen is necessary in our own setting to optimize optimal glycemic management of hospitalized acute stroke patients.

Methodology: In this single-center, open-label, randomized trial, 100 patients with acute stroke and hyperglycemia (capillary blood glucose ≥10 mmol/L on 2 or more occasions) or history of type 2 DM admitted in the in-patient Department of Neurology, National Institute of Neurosciences (NINS) \& Hospital will be randomly assigned to receive human insulin or modern insulin therapy in 1:1 ratio. The study will be carried out from February to June 2021. Blood glucose (BG) will be monitored by standardized glucometer thrice a day and insulin dose will be adjusted daily. The primary outcome of the study will be the differences in glycemic control between groups, as measured by mean daily BG concentration during the hospital stay. Secondary outcomes include differences between treatment groups in any of the following measures: number of hypoglycemic events (BG \<3.9 mmol/L), total daily dose of insulin, length of hospital stay, hospital complications and mortality.

Conditions

• Hyperglycemia
• Stroke, Acute

Interventions

DRUG

Analog Insulin

For a patient who is known to have diabetes but were not getting insulin previously (or previous insulin dosage is not known), insulin therapy will be started at a total daily dose of 0.3-0.4 units/kg/day for an admission BG between 10-15 mmol/L or 0.5-0.6 units/kg/day for a BG \>15 mmol/L. In previously insulin treated patients, ongoing total daily dose of insulin will be started. If there is history of poor glycemic control with ongoing insulin dose, then 10-20% increase of daily dose of insulin will be considered. For a patient who is not known to have diabetes, insulin therapy will be started if admission BG is \>10 mmol/L in two or more occasions. A total daily dose of 0.3-0.4 units/kg/day will be started if admission BG is 10-15 mmol/L and 0.5-0.6 units/kg/day for a BG \>15 mmol/L.

DRUG

Human insulin

Patients treated with human insulin regimen will receive 50% of total daily dose as NPH insulin at around 6 am and 6 pm, while the rest 50% regular human insulin three times a day in 3 equally divided doses at around 6 am, 12 pm and 6 pm.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka

  lead OTHER_GOV

Principal Investigators

• Mashfiqul Hasan, MD · Assistant Professor (Endocrinology)

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-04-05

Primary Completion

2021-06-20

Completion

2021-06-25

Countries

• Bangladesh

Study Locations