Hospital Admission Guidelines for Diabetes*

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:

• Life-threatening acute metabolic complications of diabetes.

• Newly diagnosed diabetes in children and adolescents.

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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 hospital admission.

Guidelines for hospital …