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Postoperative hyperglycemia is common in critically ill patients, even in those without a prior history of diabetes mellitus. It is well known that hyperglycemia induced by surgical stress often results in dysregulation of liver metabolism and immune function, impairing postoperative recovery. Current evidence suggests that maintaining normoglycemia postoperatively improves surgical outcome and reduces the mortality and morbidity of critically ill patients. On the basis of these observations, several large randomized controlled studies were designed to evaluate the benefit of postoperative tight glycemic control with intensive insulin therapy. However, intensive insulin therapy carries the risk of hypoglycemia, which is linked t