During hospitalization in the intensive care unit (ICU), the occurrence of a blood glucose imbalance is frequent and associated with increased mortality. These observations have resulted in the hypothesis that intensive insulin therapy designed to control blood glucose would improve the prognosis of patients admitted into the ICU. In a prospective, randomized, single center study in a surgical ICU during which the majority of patients had undergone cardiac surgery, intensive insulin therapy with the objective to maintain glycemia below 110 mg/dl (6.1 mmol/L) provided a significant reduction in ICU mortality and hospital mortality compared to a group with a glycemic objective of 200 mg/dl.