Evaluation of a practical technique for determining insulin requirements in diabetic patients receiving total parenteral nutrition.

A practical technique to provide central parenteral nutrition to insulin-taking diabetic patients based on prehospitalization insulin requirements and insulin placed in the central parenteral nutrition was originally presented based on retrospective review. The present article confirms the safety and applicability of this method after a multiyear period of application. Particularly noteworthy are the absence of hypoglycemic episodes, the attainment of reasonable blood glucose control, and the relatively consistent relationship of insulin required in central parenteral nutrition to prehospitalization insulin requirements.