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Tight Versus Liberal Blood Glucose Control in Adult Critically Ill Patients

Impact of Tight Blood Glucose Control Within Normal Fasting Ranges With Insulin Titration Prescribed by the Leuven Algorithm in Adult Critically Ill Patients

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03665207
Acronym
TGC-fast
Enrollment
9230
Registered
2018-09-11
Start date
2018-09-18
Completion date
2026-11-30
Last updated
2023-06-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Critical Illness, Hyperglycemia

Brief summary

Critically ill patients usually develop hyperglycemia, which is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Controversy exists on whether targeting normal blood glucose concentrations with insulin therapy, referred to as tight blood glucose control (TGC) improves outcome of these patients, as compared to tolerating hyperglycemia. It remains unknown whether TGC, when applied with optimal tools to avoid hypoglycemia, is beneficial in a context of withholding early parenteral nutrition. The TGC-fast study hypothesizes that TGC is beneficial in adult critically ill patients not receiving early parenteral nutrition, as compared to tolerating hyperglycemia.

Interventions

DRUGInsulin

When blood glucose exceeds the preset target, insulin will be administered through continuous intravenous infusion. Insulin will be titrated according to frequent measurement of blood glucose and with use of the LOGIC-insulin algorithm in the experimental group. The intervention will be stopped upon ICU discharge, or until the patient is able to resume oral feeding, or until the patient no longer has a central venous catheter, whatever comes first.

Sponsors

Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
CollaboratorOTHER
Research Foundation Flanders
CollaboratorOTHER
KU Leuven
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

\- Adult patient (18 years or older) admitted to a participating intensive care unit (ICU)

Exclusion criteria

* Patients with a do not resuscitate (DNR) order at the time of ICU admission * Patients expected to die within 12 hours after ICU admission (= moribund patients) * Patients able to receive oral feeding (not critically ill) * Patients without arterial and without central venous line and without imminent need to place it as part of ICU management (not critically ill) * Patients previously included in the trial (when readmission is within 48 hours post ICU discharge, the trial intervention will be resumed) * Patients included in an IMP-RCT of which the PI indicates that co-inclusion is prohibited * Patients transferred from a non-participating ICU with a pre-admission ICU stay \>7 days * Patients planned to receive parenteral nutrition during the first week in ICU * Patients suffering from diabetic ketoacidotic or hyperosmolar coma on ICU admission * Patients with inborn metabolic diseases * Patients with insulinoma * Patients known to be pregnant or lactating * Informed consent refusal

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Duration of ICU dependencyup to 1 year after randomizationcrude number of days with need for vital organ support and time to live discharge from ICU

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Rehabilitation/functional outcome in patients with brain injuryup to 1 year post randomizationincluding the score obtained on the modified Rankin scale. The score ranges from 0 to 6, with 0 being the best possible outcome.
Time to (live) weaning from hemodynamic supportup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Time course of markers of liver dysfunction in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomizationincluding transaminases, gamma-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin
Number of readmissions to the ICU within 48 hours after dischargeup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Incidence of delirium in ICU (in selected centers)up to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Rehabilitation/functional outcomeup to 2 years post randomizationincluding the score obtained from the 36-item short form health survey (SF-36). The score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best possible outcome.
Blood lipid concentrations in ICUup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)
Muscle strengthup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)including handgrip strength as % of the predicted value
Rehabilitation/Functional outcomeup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)including the 6-minutes walking distance in meter
Survivalup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)
Use of intensive care resources during index hospitalizationup to 1 year post randomization
Rate of recovery of organ functionup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)
Time course of daily C-reactive protein in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Time to final (live) weaning from mechanical respiratory support in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
ICU Mortalityup to 1 year after randomization (with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization)
Hospital Mortalityup to 1 year after randomization (with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization)
90-day mortalityup to 90 days post randomization
Blood glucose concentrations in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Duration of ICU dependencyup to 90 days post randomizationcrude number of days with need for vital organ support and time to live discharge from ICU
Length of stay in hospitalup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Time to (live) discharge from hospitalup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Incidence of new infections in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Type of new infections in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Duration of antibiotic treatment in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Number of participants with need for a tracheostomy during ICU stayup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Presence of clinical, electrophysiological and morphological signs of respiratory and peripheral muscle weakness in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization (in selected centers)
Incidence of acute kidney injury in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Duration of acute kidney injuryup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Rate of recovery from acute kidney injuryup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Number of participants with need for new renal replacement therapy in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Rate of recovery from new renal replacement therapyup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization
Number of participants with need for hemodynamic support in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomizationHemodynamic support is defined as the need for either pharmacological (inotropes/vasopressors) and/or mechanical hemodynamic support.
Duration of hemodynamic support in ICUup to 1 year post randomization, with and without censoring at 90 days post randomization

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Biochemical markers on blood samplesup to 4 years post randomizationincluding amino acid levels, blood lipid levels, cytokines, hypothalamic-pituitary hormones, glucagon, C-peptide, (epi)genetic markers
Rate of patients with muscle degeneration during ICU stayup to 30 days post randomization (in selected centers)assessed by microscopy
Biochemical markers in muscle tissue during ICU stayup to 30 days post randomization (in selected centers)including tissular glucose and metabolites, lipid metabolites, myofibrillary proteins, mitochondrial complex activity, autophagy markers, proteasome activity, (epi)genetic markers
Rate of patients with pathological cellular alterations in fat tissue during ICU stayup to 30 days post randomization (in selected centers)assessed by microscopy
Biochemical markers in fat tissue during ICU stayup to 30 days post randomization (in selected centers)including tissular glucose and metabolites, lipid metabolites, mitochondrial complex activity, autophagy markers, (epi)genetic markers
Rate of patients with muscle degenerationup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)assessed by microscopy
Biochemical markers in fat tissueup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)including tissular glucose and metabolites, lipid metabolites, mitochondrial complex activity, autophagy markers, (epi)genetic markers
Rate of patients with pathological cellular alterations in fat tissueup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)assessed by microscopy
Biochemical markers in muscle tissueup to 4 years post randomization (in selected centers)including tissular glucose and metabolites, lipid metabolites, myofibrillary proteins, mitochondrial complex activity, autophagy markers, proteasome activity, (epi)genetic markers

Countries

Belgium

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 13, 2026