JBDS recommendations on glycaemic management and enteral feeding published

New guidance on managing blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes who require enteral feeding while in hospital has been released. 

Entitled ‘Glycaemic management during enteral feeding for people with diabetes in hospital’, the guideline has been published by the Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care (JBDS-IP) to enhance care standards.

According to the authors, the recommendations aim to provide pragmatic guidance for the inpatient management of people with diabetes and who require a period of enteral feeding.

The updates to the guideline include:

• All people with diabetes receiving enteral feed should be reviewed by the diabetes specialist team, ideally in conjunction with the dietitian / nutrition team prior to commencing the feed to determine a suitable feed / treatment regimen
• As it is difficult to predict the individual response to insulin and feed, regular specialist review, frequent glucose testing and timely change to the regimen should be made if glucose targets are not being achieved
• Where out of hours feeding regimens are commenced, a locally agreed guideline, produced by the local dietetic / nutrition and diabetes team should be available to offer diabetes treatment advice.

Read the guideline here.