Insulin for diabetes: 100 years of therapy

This month is the 100th anniversary of insulin use in humans. Peter Jennings and Martha Stewart provide an overview of how this advancement improved care for people living with diabetes January 2022 marks 100 years since insulin was first successfully used to treat diabetes in humans. Everyone with type 1 diabetes – except those who have received pancreas or islet-cell transplants – and more than half of people with type 2 diabetes use insulin to manage their diabetes. Instead of being seen as a death sentence, type 1 diabetes is now seen as a long-term condition that can be self-managed for people with access to insulin and glucose monitoring technology. However, many people living with diabetes around the world are still unable to access affordable insulin, technologies and the support needed to self-manage their diabetes.

Effect of Different Factors on Glycosylated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) Levels Among Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Aim: To describe the rate of the controlled level of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) among diabetes mellitus patients in Dammam city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). To assess the association between the status of HbA1c and the different patient-related factors namely: insulin use, metformin, dyslipidemia, and statin use. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at Security Forces Hospital, Dammam, KSA, between November 2020 and February 2021. A sample of two hundred known diabetic patients who were regularly followed up at the outpatient department (OPD) was selected randomly for the current study. Results: A very low rate (24%) of controlled HbA1C levels in patients with diabetes (type 1 DM and type 2 DM), The data showed that 85 % of all participants in our study are T2DM patients, while only 15% are T1DM patients, Our data showed that patients with dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism, or hypertension have a high level of uncontrolled HbA1C levels. Surprisingly, both dyslipidemia and statin use were predictors of uncontrolled HbA1C, Unexpectedly, non-metformin use has a protective effect toward controlling HbA1C, While insulin use is a strong predictor of uncontrolled HbA1C (OD 5.20). Conclusion: A low rate of controlled glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level among patients with diabetes (T1DM and T2DM) in our sample urges the need for immediate intervention to investigate and improve the current findings. Further investigations are needed to fully explain the high rate of uncontrolled HbA1c among insulin, metformin and statins users. Keywords: Glycated hemoglobin, HbA1c, Diabetes mellitus, Statins, Metformin.

Does Insulin Use Worsen the Prognosis of COVID-19 Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus? A Current Update

Background: Insulin has recently received special attention concerning its use in COVID-19 patients. Although controversial, insulin can be able to worsen the prognosis of COVID-19 patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) through an inflammatory pathway. This uncertain aspect brings a new perspective related to insulin use in this pandemic era. Objective: We tried to collect and analyze various studies related to this issue to provide a complete picture of the prognosis of insulin use in COVID-19 patients with T2DM. Methods: We comprehensively searched PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, EBSCO CINAHL, MEDLINE, and grey literature databases for studies investigating the effect of insulin on COVID-19 outcomes, including mortality, hospitalization, disease progression, other prognostic surrogates. Records were screened against the eligibility criteria. Result: 2556 articles were retrieved and were screened. A total of 8 studies were included in the final analysis. There are no studies with solid evidence supporting the effect of insulin treatment on the worsening of the prognosis of COVID-19 patients with T2DM. Although several studies have shown that insulin is associated with a poor prognosis, most studies have not considered confounders. This certainly makes it challenging to analyze the effects of insulin independently. Conclusion: We propose that COVID-19 patients with T2DM continue to receive insulin, but with careful observation of the risk of disease progression.

Individual Case Safety Reports Analysis for Patients with Diabetes Mellitus on Insulin in Africa and the Middle East

Background: The growing numbers of patients with diabetes mellitus in Africa and the Middle East on antidiabetic therapies necessitate an understanding of adverse event (AE) reporting in these regions. Objective: To provide an AE reporting overview in patients using insulins in Africa and the Middle East by characterizing and comparing individual case safety reports (ICSRs) features. Method: The cross-sectional study analyzed ICSR data from a global pharmaceutical company’s pharmacovigilance database for January to December 2018 to describe and compare patient demographics, report sources, reporter types, ICSR seriousness, suspect products, indication for insulin use and AE preferred terms, by country. Results: Overall 7076 ICSRs were analyzed, 63.6% from the Middle East. Most ICSRs were non-serious (91.5%), from solicited sources (83.5%), and reported by consumers (70.7%). Patients from the Middle East were, on average, 34.2 years of age, had gestational diabetes mellitus as indication (64.3%), insulin detemir as suspect product (76.5%), and exposure during pregnancy as AE preferred term (89.1%). Patients from Africa were 48.1 years old on average, a higher proportion of type 2 diabetes mellitus was observed (52.2%), human insulins the suspect product (51.6%), and blood glucose increased the AE preferred term (23.1%). Few macrovascular and microvascular complications were reported (<1% in both regions). Associations between the region and patient age, gender, report sources, reporter types, indications for insulin use, suspect products, and AE preferred term were significant (p <0.001). Conclusion: ICSRs features were region-specific and dependent on patient age, gender, report sources, reporter types, suspect products, and AE preferred terms.

A multifaceted approach in leveraging electronic health record tools for safe inpatient use of concentrated U-500 insulin

Disclaimer In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Purpose The Institute for Safe Medication Practices classifies subcutaneous insulin as a high-risk medication. Concentrated U-500 insulin carries additional risks in comparison to conventional U-100 insulin, as the 5-fold more concentrated nature of this product, limitations to insulin pen dosing, and various devices for dose measurement may lead to miscommunication of patient-reported doses, resulting in downstream errors in ordering, verification, or administration. We describe a multifaceted approach to leveraging technical tools within the electronic health record (EHR) for U-500 insulin use. Summary At Cleveland Clinic, the U-500 insulin use process evolved in a number of phases using EHR tools. Phase 1 included new clinical decision support and documentation tools during order entry, including a customized alert that fired during order entry recommending that the prescriber order a consult with endocrinology and requiring the prescriber to provide the patient’s home insulin measuring device and the source of the patient’s reported home dose. In order verification, a customized alert fired directing the pharmacist to contact the patient or patient’s nurse and validate the information provided by the prescriber. Phase 2 involved transitioning dispensing of patient-specific doses from tuberculin syringes to U-500 insulin syringes. Phase 3 transitioned to use of U-500 insulin pens and included automatic dose rounding of ordered doses down to the nearest 5 units, and an additional customized pharmacist alert intended for cost conservation was added to fire if the patient had a recent administration of U-500 insulin documented, directing the pharmacist to determine whether the nurse needed a new pen dispensed. Conclusion Cleveland Clinic successfully implemented customized tools and processes within the EHR pertaining to the prescribing, verification, dispensing, and administration of U-500 insulin.

In-Hospital Mortality and Glycemic Control in Patients with Hospital Hyperglycemia

BACKGROUND: Stress-induced hyperglycemia is a phenomenon that occurs typically in patients hospitalized for acute disease and resolves spontaneously after regression of the acute illness. However, it can also occur in diabetes patients, a fact that is sometimes overlooked. It is thus important to make a proper diabetes diagnosis if hospitalized patients with episodes of hyperglycemia with and without diabetes are studied. AIMS: To estimate the extent of the association between stress-induced hyperglycemia and in-hospital mortality in patients with hospital hyperglycemia (HH), and to explore potential differences between patients diagnosed with diabetes (HH-DBT) and those with stress-induced hyperglycemia (SH), but not diagnosed with diabetes. METHODS: A cohort of adults with hospital hyperglycemia admitted to a tertiary, university hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: In the study, 2,955 patients were included and classified for analysis as 1,579 SH and 1,376 HH-DBT. Significant differences were observed in glycemic goal (35.53% SH versus 25.80% HH-DBT, p < 0.01), insulin use rate (26.66% SH versus 46.58% HH-DBT, p < 0.01), and severe hypoglycemia rate (1.32% SH versus 1.74% HH-DBT, p < 0.01). There were no differences in hypoglycemia rate (8.23% SH versus 10.53% HH-DBT) and hospital mortality. There was no increase in risk of mortality in the SH group adjusted for age, non-scheduled hospitalization, major surgical intervention, critical care, hypoglycemia, oncological disease, cardiovascular comorbidity, and prolonged hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we observed better glycemic control in patients with SH than in those with HH-DBT, and there was no difference in hospital mortality.

Analysis and Intervention of Factors Affecting Abnormal Postpartum Glucose Tolerance and Gestational Recurrence in Gestational Diabetes

ObjectiveTo investigate the influencing factors of abnormal postpartum glucose tolerance and pregnancy recurrence in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to develop reasonable interventions to prevent postpartum glucose tolerance and recurrence of pregnancy. Methods. Retrospective analysis of clinical data of 238 GDM patients during pregnancy, including age, body mass index (BMI) before and after pregnancy, regular exercise during pregnancy, insulin use, family history of diabetes, fasting blood glucose (FPG) during pregnancy, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) 2 h time value, blood lipid index, and whether pregnant again. At the same time, the women were followed up by telephone or home visits to understand and guide the patient’s diet and exercise. The clinical characteristics of the two groups of patients were compared. According to the OGTT test, the recovery of glucose tolerance in pregnant women 6–8 weeks postpartum was divided into the normal postpartum glucose tolerance group and the abnormal group. Logistic multivariate analysis was used to find the influencing factors of postpartum glucose tolerance and recurrence of pregnancy. Results. Between 238 patients of followed-up, 150 pregnant women had abnormal postpartum glucose tolerance, accounting for 63.03%. There were 115 repregnants, of whom 37 (32.17%) had a recurrence of postpartum glucose tolerance. Pre and postpregnancy BMI, insulin use during pregnancy, family history of diabetes, FPG during pregnancy, OGTT 2 h values, and triglyceride (TG) were independent risk factors for abnormal postpartum diabetes and recurrence of pregnancy in GDM patients. Conclusions. Patients with GDM are at high risk of postpartum abnormal glucose tolerance and pregnancy recurrence, which may be influenced by the pregnant woman’s prepregnancy and postpartum BMI, insulin use during pregnancy, family history of diabetes, FPG, OGGT 2 h values during pregnancy, and TG levels. Therefore, health education for pregnant women should be strengthened in the clinic, with guidance on proper diet for weight control, increased exercise, and regular blood glucose screening and monitoring for those at risk.

The Emerging Role of Irisin in Cardiovascular Diseases

Irisin, a novel hormone like polypeptide, is cleaved and secreted by an unknown protease from a membrane‐spanning protein, FNDC5 (fibronectin type III domain‐containing protein 5). The current knowledge on the biological functions of irisin includes browning white adipose tissue, regulating insulin use, and anti‐inflammatory and antioxidative properties. Dysfunction of irisin has shown to be involved in cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury. Moreover, irisin gene variants are also associated with cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge on irisin‐mediated regulatory mechanisms and their roles in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases.