THURSDAY, Sept. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For children with type 1 diabetes, a closed-loop system results in the glucose level being in the target range for more time than with use of a sensor-augmented insulin pump, according to a study published in the Aug. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Marc D. Breton, Ph.D., from the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology in Charlottesville, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial involving 101 children aged 6 to 13 years with type 1 diabetes. The children were randomly assigned to receive treatment with either a closed-loop system of insulin delivery (78 children) or a sensor-augmented insulin pump (control group; 23 children).
The researchers found that from baseline, there was an increase in the mean percentage of time that the glucose level was in the target range of 70 to 180 mg/dL from 53 ± 17 percent to 67 ± 10 percent (mean during 16 weeks of treatment) in the closed-loop group and an increase from 51 ± 16 percent to 55 ± 13 percent in the control group (mean adjusted difference, 11 percentage points). The median percentage of time that the glucose level was less than 70 mg/dL was low in both groups (1.6 and 1.8 percent, respectively). The system was in the closed-loop mode for a median of 93 percent of the time in the closed-loop group.
“The improvement in blood glucose control in this study was impressive, especially during the overnight hours, letting parents and caregivers sleep better at night,” a coauthor said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to Tandem Diabetes Care, which provided the supplies, expertise, and experimental closed-loop systems used in the trial.
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