IES2025 Research, Audit and Quality Improvement Projects E-Posters (60 abstracts)
1Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland; 2Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Good glycaemic control is critical for optimising inpatient outcomes. The goal of this study was to analyse point-of-care (POC) glucose data to assess inpatient glucose control in a Dublin teaching hospital. This retrospective, observational study analysed all POC glucose readings on inpatients in Connolly Hospital from 13/09/2023–12/09/2024. Each POC result was linked to a patient, location, and timestamp. Diabetes status was unavailable. Data were anonymised and analysed with Welch’s t-test and 80,647 glucose measurements were collected from 3,954 patients. The mean capillary blood glucose (CBG) was 9.2±4.5 mmol/l/l, equating to an estimated HbA1c of 58 mmol/l/mol. Overall, 66% were in range (3.9–10 mmol/l/l) while, 31.6% were above and 2.4% were below range. Mean CBG was lower during June-August when compared to all months (9.1±4.4 vs 9.2±4.5 mmol/l/l; P < 0.001) and higher during November-January compared to all months (9.6±4.7 vs 9.2±4.5 mmol/l/l; P < 0.001). Mean CBG was lower on weekdays (Monday to Friday) compared to weekends (Saturday and Sunday) (9.2±4.5 vs 9.4±4.5 mmol/l/l; P < 0.001). Surgical wards recorded lower mean CBG than medical wards (9.1±4.3 vs 9.4±4.6 mmol/l/l; P < 0.001). Hypoglycaemic readings increased from 34 in 10 patients (1.9%) the week before to 97 in 27 patients (5.1%) the week after the summer hospital doctor changeover (P < 0.001). This study reveals that one third of inpatient POC readings are out of range with evidence of variation between seasons and day of the week. These POC glucose datasets offer valuable insights into trends and targets for quality improvement.