International Diabetes Summit, Dubai

10 October 2010 (Dubai, UAE): Dr. Belal Al Shammaa, Director, Consultant Endocrinologist at the American Hospital Dubai's Diabetes Center of Excellence, addressed the International Diabetes Summit taking place in Dubai, October 8-9th, on the subject of glycemic control in hospitalized patients and also introduced a proprietary technology he has developed and applied successfully at the American Hospital Dubai.  

The Insulin Infusion Manager™ represents a new way of managing glycemic control for hospitalized patients and has significantly improved the management of diabetes at the hospital, with a minimal risk of hypoglycemia, which has been the major risk factor in all previous intensive control trials. 

Diabetes is an incurable chronic disease in which glucose levels are impaired, affecting the body's metabolism and leading to complications which can prove to be fatal. High glucose levels (hyperglycemia) and low glucose levels (hypoglycemia) are both potentially dangerous and life threatening states for a diabetes patient, making control of glucose levels an important factor for patients. The risk is even higher if the patient is presenting to a hospital with hyperglycemia and no known pre-existing diabetes.  

With management of glucose levels such a significant issue, a debate within the medical profession has been taking place about how best to control glucose levels for diabetic patients who are hospitalised and possibly critically ill. 

Speaking at the Summit, Dr Al Shammaa said: "Hyperglycemia and uncontrolled diabetes is a very common problem in hospitalized patients, especially those who require intensive care monitoring. Insulin is the most efficient way to control hyperglycemia in a hospitalized patient. When a patient condition is unstable or oral intake is altered, such as perioperatively, intravenous insulin is the preferred method of insulin therapy. While many insulin infusion protocols are published and available, they are rarely used due to their complexity and the requirement for special training and ICU housing.

To solve this complexity and achieve standardized diabetes care hospital wide, a computerized insulin infusion protocol has been developed at the American Hospital Dubai."

Dr Al Shammaa's Insulin Infusion Manager is a simple, safe, and effective method for maintaining glycemic control and is based on extensive studies. It has helped in standardizing intravenous (IV) insulin therapy in a wide variety of conditions where insulin is required and is currently used hospital-wide (from general medical surgery to ICU, ER and endoscopy) whenever IV insulin is indicated.

According to Dr Al Shammaa, recent studies do not endorse the laissez-faire attitude towards inpatient hyperglycemia that was prevalent a decade ago: "Computer assisted insulin infusion algorithm is a feasible, safe, effective and very easy way of achieving glycemic control with minimum training for the nursing staff hospital-wide."

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About the American Hospital Dubai
The American Hospital Dubai is a 144-bed, acute care, general medical/surgical private hospital with a 60 physician multi-specialty group practice, designed to provide a high quality, American standard of healthcare to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of the people of Dubai, the UAE and the surrounding Gulf States. The American Hospital Dubai became the first hospital in the Middle East to be awarded JCI accreditation in May 2000 and successfully underwent further surveys by the JCI in 2003, 2006 and 2009 to maintain its accredited status.

The American Hospital Dubai has expanded to meet the demand for more personalized services, comfort and convenience, while broadening the services and deepening the level of expertise and care offered. In response to the strong increase in local and regional demand for its services, the hospital constructed a new state of the art Outpatient Clinic Building.

In addition to the new facilities and services, the hospital continues its ongoing physician recruitment plan, which will extend the number of American Board Certified or equivalent practicing physicians at the Hospital from 60 to 110 over the next two years.

The hospital's new bed tower is currently rolling out new facilities and is due to complete before the end of 2010, when it will add an additional 240 beds, transforming the hospital into a 384-bed campus.

www.ahdubai.com

Issued on behalf of the American Hospital Dubai by WPR.

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WPR
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© Press Release 2010