Hospital Admission Guidelines for Diabetes Mellitus*

These guidelines are to be used for determining when a patient requires hospitalization for reasons related to diabetes. Inpatient care may be appropriate in the following situations:

1. Life-threatening acute metabolic complications of diabetes.

2. Newly diagnosed diabetes in children and adolescents.

3. Substantial and chronic poor metabolic control that necessitates close monitoring of the patient to determine the etiology of the control problem, with subsequent modification of therapy.

4. Severe chronic complications of diabetes that require intensive treatment or other severe conditions unrelated to diabetes that significantly affect its control or are complicated by diabetes.

5. Uncontrolled or newly discovered insulin-requiring diabetes during pregnancy.

6. Institution of insulin-pump therapy or other intensive insulin regimens.

Modification of fixed insulin-treatment regimens or sulfonylurea treatment is not, by itself, an indication for …