Declining Frequency of Acute Complications Associated with Tubeless Insulin Pump Use: Data from 2,911 Patients in the German/Austrian Diabetes Patienten Verlaufsdokumentation Registry

Real-world outcomes of Omnipod DASH system use in people with type 1 diabetes: Evidence from the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) study

AIMS

To evaluate real-world outcomes in people with Type 1 Diabetes (PwT1D) initiated on Omnipod DASH® Insulin Management System.

METHODS

Anonymized clinical data were submitted to a secure web-based tool within the National Health Service network. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), sensor-derived glucometrics, total daily dose of insulin (TDD), and patient-reported outcome changes between baseline and follow-up were assessed. Individuals were classified to "new-to-pump" (switched from multiple daily injections) and "established-on-pump" (switched from a tethered insulin pump) groups.

RESULTS

276 individuals from 11 centers [66.7 % female; 92 % White British; median age 41 years (IQR 20-50); diabetes duration 20 years (IQR 11-31); 49.3 % within "new-to-pump" group] were included. Baseline HbA1c was 8.0 ± 1.3 % (64 ± 14 mmol/mol). At follow-up [3 years (IQR 1.5-3.2)], HbA1c reduced by 0.3 % [(3 mmol/mol); p = 0.002] across the total population, 0.4 % [(5 mmol/mol); p = 0.001] in those "new-to-pump" and remained unchanged in those "established-on-pump". TDD decreased in the "new-to-pump" cohort (baseline:44.9 ± 21.0units vs follow-up:38.1 ± 15.4units, p = 0.002). Of those asked, 141/143 (98.6 %) stated Omnipod DASH had a positive impact on quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Omnipod DASH was associated with improvements in HbA1c in PwT1D "new-to-pump" and maintained previous HbA1c levels in those "established-on-pump". User satisfaction in all groups and TDD reduction in those "new-to-pump" were reported.

Time Trends in the Incidence of Diabetic Ketoacidosis Leading to Hospital Admission Among Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Nationwide Danish Register Study

OBJECTIVE

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening but preventable complication in people with type 1 diabetes. We aimed to quantify the incidence of DKA according to age and describe the time trend of DKA among adults with type 1 diabetes in Denmark.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Individuals aged ≥18 years with type 1 diabetes were identified from a nationwide Danish diabetes register. Hospital admissions due to DKA were ascertained from the National Patient Register. The follow-up period was from 1996 to 2020.

RESULTS

The cohort consisted of 24,718 adults with type 1 diabetes. The incidence rate of DKA per 100 person-years (PY) decreased with increasing age for both men and women. From 20 to 80 years of age, the DKA incidence rate decreased from 3.27 to 0.38 per 100 PY. From 1996 to 2008, the incidence rate of DKA increased for all age-groups, with a subsequent minor decrease in incidence rate until 2020. From 1996 to 2008, the incidence rates increased from 1.91 to 3.77 per 100 PY for a 20-year-old individual and from 0.22 to 0.44 per 100 PY for an 80-year-old individual living with type 1 diabetes. From 2008 to 2020 the incidence rates decreased from 3.77 to 3.27 and from 0.44 to 0.38 per 100 PY, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence rates of DKA are declining for all ages, with an overall decline from 2008 for both men and women. This likely reflects improved diabetes management for individuals with type 1 diabetes in Denmark.

Improvements in Glycemic Outcomes in 4738 Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Initiating a Tubeless Insulin Management System

INTRODUCTION

Despite recent advances in diabetes technology, most people living with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) are unable to meet glycemic targets. Real-world evidence can provide insight into outcomes achieved with specific treatment devices when used in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to analyze real-world outcomes collected from a large cohort of people living with T1D and initiating treatment with the Omnipod DASH System.

METHODS

In this retrospective observational study, real-world outcomes were analyzed from a database of information collected from people with T1D initiating the Omnipod DASH System. Information in the database was either taken directly from the patient's medical record or self-reported if medical records were unavailable. The primary outcome was change in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline (before initiation) to 3 months after initiation. Secondary outcomes were changes in total daily dose of insulin (TDD) and self-reported frequency of hypoglycemic events (< 70 mg/dL). Results are separated for the adult (≥ 18 years, N = 3341) and pediatric (< 18 years, N = 1397) cohorts.

RESULTS

The change in HbA1c from baseline was  - 0.9 ± 1.6% ( - 10 ± 18 mmol/mol; p < 0.0001) in adults and   - 0.9 ± 2.0% ( - 10 ± 22 mmol/mol; p < 0.0001) in the pediatric cohort. For those previously using multiple daily injections, HbA1c decreased by  - 1.0 ± 1.7% ( - 11 ± 19 mmol/mol) in adults and   - 1.0 ± 2.1% ( - 11 ± 23 mmol/mol) in the pediatric cohort (both p < 0.0001). Hypoglycemic events decreased in adults from 2.9 to 1.3 episodes per week ( - 1.6 ± 3.2 events/week; p < 0.0001), and in the pediatric cohort from 2.8 to 1.5 episodes per week ( - 1.3 ± 2.7 events/week; p < 0.0001). In adults, TDD decreased by 19.9% (p < 0.0001), and it remained stable in the pediatric cohort (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Real-world outcomes from this large cohort of people initiating therapy with the Omnipod DASH System showed significant improvement in HbA1c and a substantial reduction in hypoglycemic events after 3 months of use.

Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Pump Therapy Sensor Augmented Pump or Automated Insulin Delivery in Different Age Groups (0.5 to <26 Years) With Type 1 Diabetes From 2018 to 2021: Analysis of the German/Austrian/Swiss/Luxemburg DPV Registry

AIM

Insulin pump, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and sensor augmented pump (SAP) technology have evolved continuously leading to the development of automated insulin delivery (AID) systems. Evaluation of the use of diabetes technologies in people with T1D from January 2018 to December 2021.

METHODS

A patient registry (Diabetes Prospective Follow-up Database [DPV]) was analyzed for use of SAP (insulin pump + CGM ≥90 days, no automated dose adjustment) and AID (HCL or LGS/PLGS). In total 46,043 people with T1D aged 0.5 to <26 years treated in 416 diabetes centers (Germany, Austria, Luxemburg, and Switzerland) were included and stratified into 4 groups A-D according to age. Additionally, TiR and HbA1c were analyzed.

RESULTS

From 2018 to 2021, there was a significant increase from 28.7% to 32.9% (sensor augmented pump [SAP]) and 3.5% to 16.6% (AID) across all age groups, with the most frequent use in group A (<7 years, 38.8%-40.2% and 10.3%-28.5%). A similar increase in SAP and AID use was observed in groups B (7 to <11 years) and C (11 to <16 years): B: +15.8 PP, C: +15.9 PP. HbA1c improved significantly in groups C and D (16 to <26 years) (both P < .01). Time in range (TiR) increased in all groups (A: +3 PP; B: +5 PP; C: +5 PP; D: +5 PP; P < 0.01 for each group). Insulin pumps (61.0% versus 53.4% male) and SAP (33.5% versus 28.9% male) are used more frequently in females.

CONCLUSION

In recent years, we found an increasing use of new diabetes technologies and an improvement in metabolic control (TiR) across all age groups.

DKA Prevention and Insulin Pumps: Lessons Learned From a Large Pediatric Pump Practice

PURPOSE

This purpose of the study was to describe recent diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) incidence data in youth with type 1 diabetes using insulin pumps and the impact of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) on DKA rates.

METHODS

DKA data were obtained through a retrospective chart review of insulin pump users (ages <26 years) between December 2019 and June 2021 in an academic pediatric endocrinology practice where 68% of patients were pump users.

RESULTS

Among 591 pump patients, 28 events occurred (3.16 events per 100 patient-years). Mean age was 13.6±3.4 years; 85.7% ranged from 12 to 19 years. Mean A1C was 10.2±2.3%, diabetes duration was 6.1±4.0 years, and 57.1% used CGM. Admission pH levels ranged between 7.0 and 7.31, with 28.6% of events classified as "moderate" and 46.4% "severe." There was no significant difference in the DKA severity between those who wore a CGM and those who did not (ie, pH, serum bicarbonate, mentation alteration, length of stay, intensive care unit admission, and hospital admission). DKA events were attributed to concurrent illness (10.7%), insulin omission (14.3%), pump site failure (57.1%), or other pump malfunctions (14.3%).

CONCLUSION

DKA events in pump-treated patients were relatively uncommon; most episodes occurred in adolescents with higher A1C levels, and notably, most events could have been avoided if users followed standard troubleshooting guidelines. Thus, DKA prevention education should be reinforced at each encounter, particularly for teens with higher A1C levels. Moreover, more than 50% of those with DKA episodes wore a CGM, suggesting that pump users using CGM require frequent reinforcement of this education and that the development of such educational materials is critical.

J. Schreiber L, Wallace EJ, Wylie R, O'Sullivan J, Dolan EB, Duffy GP. Medical devices, smart drug delivery, wearables and technology for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of metabolic disorders which affect how the body uses glucose impacting approximately 9% of the population worldwide. This review covers the most recent technological advances envisioned to control and/or reverse Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), many of which will also prove effective in treating the other forms of diabetes mellitus. Current standard therapy for T1DM involves multiple daily glucose measurements and insulin injections. Advances in glucose monitors, hormone delivery systems, and control algorithms generate more autonomous and personalised treatments through hybrid and fully automated closed-loop systems, which significantly reduce hypo- and hyperglycaemic episodes and their subsequent complications. Bi-hormonal systems that co-deliver glucagon or amylin with insulin aim to reduce hypoglycaemic events or increase time spent in target glycaemic range, respectively. Stimuli responsive materials for the controlled delivery of insulin or glucagon are a promising alternative to glucose monitors and insulin pumps. By their self-regulated mechanism, these "smart" drugs modulate their potency, pharmacokinetics and dosing depending on patients' glucose levels. Islet transplantation is a potential cure for T1DM as it restores endogenous insulin and glucagon production, but its use is not yet widespread due to limited islet sources and risks of chronic immunosuppression. New encapsulation strategies that promote angiogenesis and oxygen delivery while protecting islets from recipients' immune response may overcome current limiting factors.

Patch Pumps: Periodic Insulin Delivery Patterns

Recent in vitro experiments with patch pumps (PP) Omnipod (OP), Omnipod DASH (OP-D), A6 TouchCare (A6), and Accu-Chek Solo (ACS) have observed periodic fluctuations in the delivered amount of insulin during basal rate and consecutive bolus delivery in some PP, calling for a more systematic characterization of these periodic delivery patterns. Here, it was found that during basal rate delivery of 1 U/h, some devices of OP, OP-D, and A6 showed deviations of up to ±30% from target delivery that consistently repeated every 5 hours, whereas ACS showed no clear periodicity with considerably lower deviations. Similar results were found during consecutive bolus delivery of 1 U, where deviations repeated consistently every five boluses in some devices of OP, OP-D, and A6. However, there was a large variability in the periodic delivery patterns between individual devices of the same PP model. Examining their pumping techniques indicated a connection between the insulin delivery mechanism and observed delivery patterns of the PP. However, the clinical impact of such patterns is unclear.