Effects of fenugreek seeds on stress-Induced hyperglycemia and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients: A Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Introduction: Stress hyperglycemia is commonly observed in critically ill patients that associated with poor clinical outcome of patients. Fenugreek seeds have long been known as an anti-diabetic drug which the pharmaceutical aspects have been proven.Materials: This study, was parallel randomized controlled clinical trial that 60 adult patients were randomly divided in 2 groups (n=30). This study was conducted in Sabzevar, Iran in April 2015. The intervention group received 3-gram fenugreek seed powder by gavage, twice a day in addition to routine care. The control group received only the routine care. In the beginning, a daily evaluation of fasting and post-prandial blood sugar was done for 10 days. Secondary component (Prevalence of Pneumonia; Length of ICU stay, Length of hospital stay, ventilator days, APACHE II score, and Mortality rate) were measured until the hospital discharge time or death. Data were analyzed via SPSS v. 20, using Student’s t-test (paired and unpaired), chi-square test, repeated measure ANOVA, and Wilcoxon test.Results: After 10 days of treatment, there was significant fall in fasting, as well as postprandial blood sugar levels in 2 groups. However this improvement was statistically more significant in Intervention group when compared to control group (p<0.001). The length of ICU stay was significantly shorter in the intervention group (14/2± 4/7 days vs. 17/6± 6/5 days, P=0.028). APACHE II and GCS scores were not significantly affected by fenugreek seeds. Length of treatment mechanical ventilated (16/06 ± 4/81 vs. 20/26 ± 6/05, P=0/64) and mortality rate was unaffected [6.6% (2) vs. 20% (6), P=0.12].Conclusion: The present study showed that daily diet with fenugreek seeds can be used as an add-on therapy with other medications is in management of Stress-hyperglycemia in critically ill patients.

Effects of fenugreek seeds on stress-Induced hyperglycemia and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients: A Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Trial Keywords:

stress-induced hyperglycemia (SIH) , fenugreek seeds , outcome , intensive care unit (ICU)