Prospective study of efficacy and safety of insulin pump therapy in children and adolescents

Adequate glycemic control remains an unresolved problem for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. The use of new insulin analogsand intense insulinotherapy does not always permit to achieve the target levels of glycemia and HbA1c. To-day insulin pump therapy is considered tobe the most efficacious tool for the improvement of glycemic control.Aim. To estimate results of glycemic control in children and adolescents treated by insulin pump therapy. Materials and methods. The study included 173 patients aged 1.5-22 years having the disease for 0.5-20 years. MiniMed 508, MiniMed 712,MiniMed 722, Accu Check Spirit, Accu check D-Tron, Dana Care IIs pumps, ultrashort-acting insulins aspart and lispro were used. The patientsperformed self-control of glycemia 4-8 times during 24 hours. HbA1c was measured before and 12, 24, 36, 48 months after the onset of therapy. Thefrequency of DKA and severe hypoglycemia was recorded. Results. The HbA1c before the onset of therapy was 9.8 ?2.0% and dropped to 8.6; 8.7; 8.7; 8.9 and 9% 12, 24, 36, 48 months after it respectively.DKA was diagnosed in 20 (2.4%) and severe hypoglycemia in 5 patients. All patients in the CSII group were content with the use of the pumps, theabsence of injections and flexible day regimen. Conclusion. One year after the beginning of therapy the level of HbA1c significantly decreased. However, it increased again during a follow-up of5 years probably because of impaired compliance. This fact implies the necessity to regular repeat patient education for raising awareness of and motivationfor self-management.