ABSTRACT Background Hyperglycaemia is highly prevalent, affecting approximately one‐third of critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition (EN). Persistent hyperglycaemia is associated with an elevated risk of infection, increased mortality and prolonged length of stay, negatively impacting patient prognosis. Therefore, implementing an evidence‐based hyperglycaemia management strategy is crucial to improve patient outcomes. Aim This study aimed to reduce the incidence of hyperglycaemia during EN in critically ill patients through evidence‐based practice. Study Design A non‐concurrent control study was conducted using pre‐ and post‐implementation data. The baseline audit group comprised intensive care units patients receiving EN from January to June 2024, compared with a follow‐up audit group receiving an evidence‐based protocol from July to December 2024. Results Following evidence‐based practice implementation, the adherence rate for 12 of the 25 review indicators exceeded 60%, with 15 indicators demonstrating a significant improvement compared with pre‐intervention levels ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, the incidence of hyperglycaemia significantly decreased from 51.73% to 35.34% ( p = 0.001), whereas the target blood glucose achievement rate significantly increased from 25.76% to 37.96% ( p < 0.001). Concurrently, significant improvements were observed in both mean blood glucose levels (9.20 7.50, 11.50 mmol/L) and mean fasting blood glucose (8.20 6.80, 10.35 mmol/L) ( p < 0.05). Conclusions Evidence‐based practice for hyperglycaemia management during EN in critically ill patients significantly improves medical staff compliance with blood glucose management protocols, leading to reduced hyperglycaemia incidence, improved target blood glucose achievement, optimized glycaemic control and shortened hospital stays. Relevance to Clinical Practice The significant reduction in hyperglycaemia rates and increased provider adherence to the evidence‐based intervention suggest that evidence‐based hyperglycaemia management practices can be effectively translated to other clinical settings and provide a feasible set of strategies for implementing similar programmes in resource‐constrained settings.
Yan et al. (Fri,) studied this question.