Short-term intensive insulin therapy in insulin-requiring diabetes: effectiveness and factors predicting success.
Insulin-requiring diabetes (IRD) is a condition of permanent blood glucose imbalance which occurs despite a regulated diet and treatment with maximum doses of oral anti-diabetic drugs (glibenclamide 15 mg/d + metformin 1,700 mg/d). This report describes the results of a 2-year prospective study in 75 IRD patients treated to eliminate their insulin requirement. All had residual endogenous insulin secretion (REIS) (urinary C peptide > 80 micrograms/24 h and/or basal C peptide > 2.4 ng/ml) and were treated for 10 days by subcutaneous insulin infusion via a portable pump. REIS was measured, and insulin resistance was determined by an insulin tolerance test (ITT) to define their insulin sensitivity index (DG/G) before and after 10-day intensive therapy. The patients were monitored as outpatients, and the attempt at remission was considered to be a failure (F) or a success (S). Thirty of the 75 patients (40%) were in remission at 1 year, and 14/67 (21%) at 2 years. No clinical criterion differentiated successes from failures at 1 year, nor was the initial degree of blood glucose imbalance or the REIS predictive of the metabolic changes that occurred after insulin therapy. However, the drop in the insulin requirement (IR) (-26% for F and -39% for S, p < 0.05) and the increases in the DG/G index (+68 +/- 51% for F and 176 +/- 50% for S, p < 0.01) after insulin therapy were indicative of their condition 1 year later. Receiving operating characteristic curves showed that a 35% decrease in IR and an 80% increase in DG/G were indicative of a successful outcome at 1 year, with a specificity and sensitivity of about 70%. It is concluded that a decrease in daily IR and an increase in the DG/G index during insulin treatment are prognostic indicators of the course of insulin-requiring diabetics after temporary intensive insulin treatment.
Meyer
L
L
Service de Diabétologie, Maladies Métaboliques, Nutrition, CHU de Nancy, Hôpital Jeanne d'Arc BP 303, Toul, France.
Grulet
H
H
Guerci
B
B
Gross
A
A
Durlach
V
V
Leutenegger
M
M
D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D012074:Remission Induction / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D007328:Insulin