Insulin pump therapy in youth with type 1 diabetes: A retrospective paired study

OBJECTIVE. To compare by age and glycemic control continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion with multiple daily injections in youth with type 1 diabetes. METHODS. The files of 279 patients who had type 1 diabetes and switched from multiple daily injections to continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion between 1998 and 2003 were reviewed for glycemic control, body mass index standard deviation score, and adverse events. Patients were divided by age as follows: 23 prepubertal (median age: 5.4; range: 1.6 - 8.6 years), 127 adolescent (median age: 13.7; range 9 - 17 years), and 129 young adult (median age: 22.8; range: 17 - 40 years). The data were compared between the 12 months of multiple daily injections that preceded continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion and the period after the start of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion for the whole cohort and by age group. RESULTS. A significant decrease in hemoglobin A1c was demonstrated after the start of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion use for the entire cohort (-0.51%) and for the prepubertal (-0.48%), adolescent (-0.26%), and young adult (-0.76%) groups. There was a significant interaction between the change in hemoglobin A1c level and hemoglobin A1c value at initiation of pump therapy (-1.7% for patients with hemoglobin A1c >= 10%; 0.2% for patients with hemoglobin A1c <= 7%). The rate of severe hypoglycemic episodes decreased significantly in the adolescent group, from 36.5 to 11.1 events per 100 patient-years, and in the young adult group, from 58.1 to 23.3. There was no significant change in the rate of diabetic ketoacidosis between the 2 periods. The young adults showed a significant decrease in body mass index standard deviation scores (-0.08 +/- 0.37). CONCLUSIONS. Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion improves glycemic control in youth with type 1 diabetes, especially in those with a history of poor glycemic control. This improvement is associated with a decrease in the rate of severe hypoglycemia in the absence of weight gain.