An audit of inpatient hypoglycaemia management in a model 4 hospital

Sarah Jane Lennon; Kateryna Kohut; Vivian Forde; Maria Lohan; Lisa Reddington; Aine Cunningham; Michelle Maher; Dianae Hogan-Murphy; Deirdre Cunningham; Ridhwaan Salemohamed

doi:10.1530/endoabs.115.P51

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Endocrine Abstracts (2026) 115 P51 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.115.P51

IES2025 Research, Audit and Quality Improvement Projects Physical Posters (55 abstracts)

An audit of inpatient hypoglycaemia management in a model 4 hospital

Sarah Jane Lennon , Kateryna Kohut , Vivian Forde , Maria Lohan , Lisa Reddington , Aine Cunningham , Michelle Maher , Dianae Hogan-Murphy , Deirdre Cunningham & Ridhwaan Salemohamed

Author affiliations

Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Galway University Hospitals, Galway, Ireland

Hypoglycaemia is a common complication in patients with diabetes. Within the hospital, it is associated with longer admissions and increased morbidity and mortality. This audit evaluated whether hypoglycaemic episodes in diabetic inpatients were compliant to the Galway University Hospital (GUH) protocol “Hypoglycaemia in Adult Patients”. A retrospective review was conducted on the management of hypoglycaemic episodes for inpatients with diabetes over a two-week period in GUH in medical and surgical wards (excluding ICU, HDU, ED, Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Psychiatry wards). The audit is GDPR compliant and approved by the GUH Audit Committee.

Results: • 70 hypoglycaemia episodes in 28 patients over two weeks.

• 61% were admitted under medical specialties.

• 79% were on insulin; 11% on oral hypoglycaemics (OHAs); 11% on no therapy.

• 81% of events and rechecks were recorded on insulin charts, 60% in nursing notes, 51% recorded in both.

• 10% of hypoglycaemic events were not re-checked.

• Only 10% had blood glucose rechecked within 15 minutes.

• 44% of blood glucose readings were checked within 30 minutes.

• 93% of events had treatment documented; 95% used oral solutions, 3% IV dextrose and 2% glucagon. All treatments were guideline compliant.

• Long-acting carbohydrate was recorded in just 29% of cases. Compliance with GUH hypoglycaemia guidelines is suboptimal regarding time to re-check. Overall documentation of event was good at 90%. It is evident that re-checking blood glucose within the recommended time is difficult for ward staff. The outcome was to increase education of the 15 minutes recheck after hypoglycaemic event. Re-audit in 12 months.