Veterans Inpatient Insulin Study and Transition to Outpatient Therapy

By doing this study, we hope to learn the optimal way to use insulin therapy to treat individuals during a hospitalization for an illness as well as during the recovery phase of the illness for twenty-four weeks after discharge from the hospital.

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for duration of three-months or longer
• greater than or equal to 40 years of age
• Written informed consent to participate in the study
• Admitted for hospitalization at VA Medical Center Lexington, KY
• Able and willing to do the following:
• Use the insulin injection device provided to you as you are instructed
• Check your blood sugar as instructed using the blood sugar monitor and send the results by a glucose log or a telephone transmitter provided to you for use during the study
• Enter your information in a diary provided to you
• You have an acute non-critical medical illness requiring inpatient hospitalization (at least 24 hour admission) with a blood glucose between 140 and 400 mg/dl.
• You require further hospitalization after being released from intensive care unit for an acute illness

Exclusion criteria

• Have developed a severe illness requiring treatment in an intensive care unit as determined by your admitting physician.
• Are pregnant or intend to become pregnant during this study, or are a sexually active woman who could become pregnant and are not practicing a birth control method considered acceptable by your study doctor for preventing pregnancy.
• Are a woman who is breastfeeding.
• Have a history of heart disease that limits your physical activity
• Have had a kidney transplant or are currently receiving kidney dialysis
• Have history of cancer other than minor skin cancer.
• Have had a blood transfusion or severe loss of blood in the past 3 months or have any disease of the blood system.
• Are allergic or sensitive to study insulin.
• Are currently receiving oral steroid therapy.
• Are currently on any other investigational medications or investigational protocols
• Have drug or alcohol abuse that in the investigator's opinion would cause the individual to be non-compliant.
• Are poorly compliant with the currently prescribed diabetes regimen or self monitoring of blood glucose, as defined by the investigator.
• Have a mental condition that renders you unable to understand the scope and possible consequences of the study.