Contraindications, Warnings and Precautions

 

The Glucommander System is a glycemic management tool intended to evaluate current as well as cumulative patient blood glucose values coupled with patient information including age, weight and height, and, based on the aggregate of these measurement parameters, whether one or many, recommend an IV dosage of insulin, glucose or saline or a subcutaneous basal and bolus insulin dosing recommendation to adjust and maintain the blood glucose level towards a configurable physician- determined target range. The Glucommander System is indicated for use in adult and pediatric (ages 2-17 years) patients.
The measurements and calculations generated are intended to be used by qualified and trained medical personnel in evaluating patient conditions in conjunction with clinical history, symptoms, and other diagnostic measurements, as well as the medical professional’s clinical judgement. No medical decision should be based solely on the recommended guidance provided by this software program.

 

Contraindications

 

Terminal patients – Glucommander is not appropriate for use with patients having a life expectancy less than 48 hours.

 

Severe Insulin Resistance – Patients receiving insulin at more than 500 units/hr are assumed to be extremely insulin resistant by the system. Glucommander will flash a warning message indicating possible severe insulin resistance, instructing the healthcare professional to contact the attending provider for treatment of insulin resistance before resuming the program.

 

Do not use on patients with a known insulin allergy.

 

Not for use with pediatric patients less than 2 years of age.

 

Warnings and Precautions

 

Glucommander is a dosage calculator that compares glucose values to provider-selected values and provides an alert if values are out of the range or if the rate of change of these values exceeds parameters. Glucommander is not an active monitoring device. The Glucommander software is designed to assist the professional in assessing the possibility of adverse patient outcomes occurring during treatment.

 

Hypoglycemia— This sometimes occurs when the patient has received too much insulin or too little nutritional intake. The onset of hypoglycemia may differ depending on various sources but strictly defined, hypoglycemia occurs when the body’s counter-regulatory hormones are stimulated in response to low blood glucose levels. At this stage the body responds in an attempt to send additional glucose to the brain in order to preserve its viability and function. In short, too little glucose can cause temporary or permanent brain damage when hypoglycemia is severe (e.g., BG < 25 mg/dl). Glucommander highlights blood glucose values below 70 mg/dl in a different color so that they are more noticeable to providers when evaluating blood glucose values collected in an update batch. The software also automatically adjusts dosing recommendations based on glucose values that are above or below provider-selected ranges.

Changes in nutritional status, physical activity, patient condition and medications—The Glucommander software application will adjust insulin dosing recommendations toward the goal of achieving and maintaining BG levels within target range. It is important to recognize the importance that changing variables like nutrition, stress (caused by infection or sepsis, the emotional and physical stress of surgery, etc.) and medication play in the glycemic management of the patient. Changing certain medications like steroids will impact BG greatly as well.

 

Glucommander is only available for use in the United States.

 

This site is only intended for use in the United States.