Heart And Lung Failure - Pediatric INsulin Titration Trial

Summary

Stress hyperglycemia, a state of abnormal metabolism with supra-normal blood glucose levels, is often seen in critically ill patients. Tight glycemic control (TGC) was originally shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in a landmark randomized clinical trial (RCT) of adult critically ill surgical patients but has since come under intense scrutiny due to conflicting results in recent adult trials. One pediatric RCT has been published to date that demonstrated survival benefit but was complicated by an unacceptably high rate of severe hypoglycemia. The Heart And Lung Failure - Pediatric INsulin Titration (HALF-PINT) trial is a multi-center, randomized clinical treatment trial comparing two ranges of glucose control in hyperglycemic critically ill children with heart and/or lung failure. Both target ranges of glucose control fall within the range of "usual care" for critically ill children managed in pediatric intensive care units. The purpose of the study is to determine the comparative effectiveness of tight glycemic control to a target range of 80-110 mg/dL (TGC-1, 4.4-6.1 mmol/L) vs. a target range of 150-180 mg/dL (TGC-2, 8.3-10.0 mmol/L) on hospital mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) in hyperglycemic critically ill children with cardiovascular and/or respiratory failure. This will be accomplished using an explicit insulin titration algorithm and continuous glucose monitoring to safely achieve these glucose targets. Both groups will receive identical standardized intravenous glucose at an age-appropriate rate in order to provide basal calories and mitigate hypoglycemia. Insulin infusions will be titrated with an explicit algorithm combined with continuous glucose monitoring using a protocol that has been safely implemented in 490 critically ill infants and children.

Timeline

Start

2012-04

Primary completion

2016-09

Completion

2018-02

Publications

• Background Agus MS, Hirshberg E, Srinivasan V, Faustino EV, Luckett PM, Curley MA, Alexander J, Asaro LA, Coughlin-Wells K, Duva D, French J, Hasbani N, Sisko MT, Soto-Rivera CL, Steil G, Wypij D, Nadkarni VM. Design and rationale of Heart and Lung Failure - Pediatric INsulin Titration Trial (HALF-PINT): A randomized clinical trial of tight glycemic control in hyperglycemic critically ill children. Contemp Clin Trials. 2017 Feb;53:178-187. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2016.12.023. Epub 2016 Dec 30.
• LaRovere KL, Asaro LA, Coughlin-Wells K, Nadkarni VM, Agus MSD; Heart and Lung Failure-Pediatric Insulin Titration (HALF-PINT) Study Investigators. Blood Glucose Range for Hyperglycemic PICU Children With Primary Neurologic Diagnoses: Analysis of the Heart and Lung Failure-Pediatric Insulin Titration (HALF-PINT) Trial. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2025 Apr 1;26(4):e432-e446. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000003689. Epub 2025 Feb 5.
• Yang JO, Zinter MS, Pellegrini M, Wong MY, Gala K, Markovic D, Nadel B, Peng K, Do N, Mangul S, Nadkarni VM, Karlsberg A, Deshpande D, Butte MJ, Asaro L, Agus M, Sapru A; Study Site Investigators for CAF-PINT. Whole blood transcriptomics identifies subclasses of pediatric septic shock. Crit Care. 2023 Dec 8;27(1):486. doi: 10.1186/s13054-023-04689-y.
• Yang JO, Zinter MS, Pellegrini M, Wong MY, Gala K, Markovic D, Nadel B, Peng K, Do N, Mangul S, Nadkarni VM, Karlsberg A, Deshpande D, Butte MJ, Asaro L, Agus M, Sapru A. Whole Blood Transcriptomics Identifies Subclasses of Pediatric Septic Shock. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2023 Aug 28:rs.3.rs-3267057. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3267057/v1.
• Bellon F, Sola I, Gimenez-Perez G, Hernandez M, Metzendorf MI, Rubinat E, Mauricio D. Perioperative glycaemic control for people with diabetes undergoing surgery. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Aug 1;8(8):CD007315. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007315.pub3.
• Zinter MS, Markovic D, Asaro LA, Nadkarni VM, McQuillen PS, Sinha P, Matthay MA, Jeschke MG, Agus MSD, Sapru A; CAF-PINT Investigators of the PALISI Network. Tight Glycemic Control, Inflammation, and the ICU: Evidence for Heterogeneous Treatment Effects in Two Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Apr 1;207(7):945-949. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202210-1988LE. No abstract available.
• Hirshberg EL, Alexander JL, Asaro LA, Coughlin-Wells K, Steil GM, Spear D, Stone C, Nadkarni VM, Agus MSD; HALF-PINT Study Investigators. Performance of an Electronic Decision Support System as a Therapeutic Intervention During a Multicenter PICU Clinical Trial: Heart and Lung Failure-Pediatric Insulin Titration Trial (HALF-PINT). Chest. 2021 Sep;160(3):919-928. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2021.04.049. Epub 2021 Apr 29.
• LaMarra D, French J, Bailey C, Sisko MT, Coughlin-Wells K, Agus MSD, Srinivasan V, Nadkarni VM; Heart And Lung Failure-Pediatric INsulin Titration (HALF-PINT) Study Investigators. A Novel Framework Using Remote Telesimulation With Standardized Parents to Improve Research Staff Preparedness for Informed Consent in Pediatric Critical Care Research. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2020 Dec;21(12):e1042-e1051. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002484.
• Biagas KV, Hinton VJ, Hasbani NR, Luckett PM, Wypij D, Nadkarni VM, Agus MSD; HALF-PINT trial study investigators; PALISI Network. Long-Term Neurobehavioral and Quality of Life Outcomes of Critically Ill Children after Glycemic Control. J Pediatr. 2020 Mar;218:57-63.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.10.055. Epub 2020 Jan 3.
• Srinivasan V, Hasbani NR, Mehta NM, Irving SY, Kandil SB, Allen HC, Typpo KV, Cvijanovich NZ, Faustino EVS, Wypij D, Agus MSD, Nadkarni VM; Heart and Lung Failure-Pediatric Insulin Titration (HALF-PINT) Study Investigators. Early Enteral Nutrition Is Associated With Improved Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Children: A Secondary Analysis of Nutrition Support in the Heart and Lung Failure-Pediatric Insulin Titration Trial. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2020 Mar;21(3):213-221. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002135.
• Agus MS, Wypij D, Hirshberg EL, Srinivasan V, Faustino EV, Luckett PM, Alexander JL, Asaro LA, Curley MA, Steil GM, Nadkarni VM; HALF-PINT Study Investigators and the PALISI Network. Tight Glycemic Control in Critically Ill Children. N Engl J Med. 2017 Feb 23;376(8):729-741. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1612348. Epub 2017 Jan 24.

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