Effects of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide on gastric emptying, glycaemia and insulinaemia during critical illness: a prospective, double blind, randomised, crossover study

What Was Tested

Researchers studied GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide) in this randomized controlled trial publication.

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of exogenous GIP infusion on blood glucose concentrations, glucose absorption, insulinaemia and gastric emptying in critically ill patients without known diabetes.

Why It Was Studied

In health glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is a potent glucose-lowering peptide that does not cause hypoglycaemia.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 20 patients were involved.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Because people in this GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Blinding on both sides kept the patients and researchers unaware of who received GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide).

Some patients received a placebo instead of GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide), giving a reference point.

In the crossover set-up each of the patients took both GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide) and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

Blood glucose and serum 3-OMG (an index of glucose absorption) concentrations were measured.

Gastric emptying, insulin and glucagon levels and plasma GIP concentrations were also measured.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Critical Illness, Gastric Emptying, Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide, Glucagon, Glucagon-Like Peptides, Glucose and Hyperglycemia.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide) in 20 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 2 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2015 (Critical care (London, England)), a journal based in England.

More context: the GIP (Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide) compound page, all human trials.