Hyperglycaemia is a common finding in critically ill patients. Maintenance of normoglycaemia with intensive insulin therapy during intensive care has been recently demonstrated to decrease mortality and morbidity. Therefore, hyperglycaemia should no longer be considered a surrogate marker of severity of illness, but needs to be controlled aggressively. The most important arguments for the implementation of intensive insulin therapy are its safety, cost-effectiveness and ease of use.

        Key words: insulin – infection – myocardial infarction – glycaemia – critically ill