Glucontrol Study: Comparing the Effects of Two Glucose Control Regimens by Insulin in Intensive Care Unit Patients

Glucontrol is a prospective, randomized, controlled, multi-centric study. The present study will compare the effects of two regimens of insulin therapy, respectively titrated to achieve a blood sugar level between 4.4 and 6.1 mmol/l (80 and 110 mg/dl, respectively) and between 7.8 and 10.0 mmol/l (140 and 180 mg/dl, respectively). This project aims at defining whether a tight glucose control by insulin improves the vital outcome in a mixed population of critically ill patients (around 3000 patients). Secondary outcome variables will include in-hospital and 28-day mortality, lengths of stays in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and in the hospital, length of ICU stay without life-support therapy, number and clinical signs of episodes of hypoglycemia, rates of infections and organ failures, and number of red-cell transfusions.