Adult Medical Emergency Handbook - Scottish Intensive Care Society

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INTRAVENOUS INSULIN SLIDING SCALE REGIMEN
Remember, intravenous insulin has a half-life of only 2.5
minutes, so if intravenous insulin is disconnected for any
appreciable length of time, hyperglycaemia will quickly ensue
(unless subcutaneous insulin has been given).
The insulin infusion is prepared by adding 50 Units of Actrapid insulin
to 0.9% saline in a syringe to a total volume of 50ml. Thus, 1ml of the
solution contains 1 unit of insulin. The doses of insulin are adjusted
according to a sliding scale, which is prescribed as below.
BG (mmol/l) Insulin infusion (Units actrapid/hour = ml/hour)
>16 6 (test urine for ketones, call Dr as the sliding
scale may need revision)
13-15.9 4
10-12.9 3
7.0-9.9 2
5.0-6.9 1
4.0-4.9 0.5