Metabolic control with insulin pump therapy: Preliminary experience

Background: The benefits of insulin pump therapy on the metabolic control of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have been reported. Such reports have prompted our interest to investigate the long-term metabolic effects of insulin pump therapy at our institution. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the management of type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients who began extended insulin pump therapy at Changhua Christian Hospital between November 2004 and October 2007. One-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis were used to compare baseline glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) values with subsequent values. Results: We studied 12 patients who were on continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy at the time of data collection. Mean duration of CSII therapy was 2.3 years. A reduction in HbA1C was found after administering CSII, which was sustained after 1, 2 and 3 years of therapy (7.0%, 6.7% and 6.6%, respectively), with statistical significance (p < 0.05). No incidence of severe hypoglycemia or diabetic ketoacidosis occurred during the treatment period. Conclusion: Our preliminary experience demonstrated the effectiveness of insulin pump therapy for both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. The reduction in their HbA1C values was both statistically and clinically significant. This treatment should be considered for patients poorly controlled by subcutaneous insulin injection therapy.