Figure 4

Measured blood glucose (BG) signals of patient no. 19 and 11. The measured BG readings (ABL700 Radiometer Medical) of patient no. 19 (top panel) and 11 (bottom panel) from group 1 are represented by stars. These BG profile examples denote tight glycemic control for patient no. 19 but rather poor glycemic control for patient no. 11. It is important to note that different time scales were used as patient no. 11 stayed in the intensive care unit (ICU) for only a short time period. Further, the obtained BG measurements were linearly interpolated. The normal BG range (target range) is indicated by the shaded area (80–110 mg/dl). The hyperglycemic index (HGI) is the area under the glucose curve above 6 mmol/l (108 mg/dl, as illustrated by the dashed line [28]). The morning BG values are indicated by the dotted arrows. Table 4 shows all computed measures in detail. Based on clinical expert knowledge, it can be observed that the assessment of the BG profile of patient no. 11 using the glycemic penalty index (GPI) is different from the evaluation with average (morning) BG and HGI.