BACKGROUND In patients who need insulin therapy, it is difficult to assess insulin requirements because of individual variability in insulin sensitivity and secretion. The aim of this study is to know that it is possible to achieve rapidly and efficiently normoglycemia based on insulin infusion algorithm and whether there is correlation between basal insulin requirements and daily administered total insulin dose. METHODS: Total 34 patients were enrolled. Insulin infusion was begun at 2:00 p.m., and bedside blood glucose concentration was measured at hourly intervals. The rate of insulin infusion was adjusted according to blood glucose levels. We compared insulin requirements to maintain normoglycemia (basal insulin requirements) with daily administered total insulin dose. RESULTS: At start, the mean blood glucose concentration was 14.9+/-4.7 mmol/L; by the first hour, it was 10.7+/-3.6 mmol/L; by the second hour, it was 7.4+/-3.1 mmol/L; when the infusion was discontinued, it was 5.7+/-1.0 mmol/L. This algorithm successfully inducted normoglycemia in all patients within 3.5+/-1.8 h. There was significant correlation between basal insulin requirements and daily administered total insulin dosage. And, daily administered insulin dose had significant correlation with first hour glucose concentration, first hour insulin infusion rate, second hour glucose concentration, second hour insulin infusion rate, and glucose concentration at the end. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that normoglycemia can be achieved rapidly and efficiently based on insulin infusion algorithm. The present study suggested that we could predict daily insulin requirements through basal insulin requirements that we measured.