Diabetic retinopathy after 3 years' treatment with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).
Twenty-four insulin-dependent juvenile diabetics with no or minimal background retinopathy were randomly allocated to conventional insulin therapy (CIT) or continuous sc insulin infusion (CSII) administrated by a portable pump. At the present 3 year follow-up, there was one drop-out in the CSII group. Although the metabolic control was significantly better in the CSII patients, both groups improved significantly in metabolic control during the observation period. After 3 years, the HbA lc level was 7.4% +/- 1.2 (+/- SD) in the CSII patients and 8.6% +/- 1.6 in the CIT patients (P less than 0.01). As compared to the status at the beginning of the study, a progression of diabetic retinopathy (criteria: development of more than 2 microaneurysms) was observed in 4 of 11 in the CSII group and in 5 of 12 in the CIT group (P greater than 0.05). None of the patients were seen to develop soft exudates or neovascularisations. This study confirms the impression gained from a previous one-year follow-up of similar progression of retinopathy in patients on CSII and CIT.
Olsen
T
T
Richelsen
B
B
Ehlers
N
N
Beck-Nielsen
H
H
D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007332:Insulin Infusion Systems; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin