Objective:To compare multiple doses of insulin and continuous insulin infusion therapy as
treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus.Methods:40 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (21 female) with ages between 10 and 20
years (mean=14.2) and mean duration of diabetes of 7 years used multiple doses of
insulin for at least 6 months and after that, continuous insulin infusion therapy
for at least 6 months. Each one of the patients has used multiple doses of insulin
and continuous insulin infusion therapy. For analysis of HbA1c, mean glycated
hemoglobin levels (mHbA1c) were obtained during each treatment period (multiple
doses of insulin and continuous insulin infusion therapy period).Results:Although mHbA1c levels were lower during continuous insulin infusion therapy the
difference was not statistically significant. During multiple doses of insulin,
14.2% had mHbA1c values below 7.5% vs. 35.71% while on continuous
insulin infusion therapy; demonstrating better glycemic control with the use of
continuous insulin infusion therapy. During multiple doses of insulin, 15–40
patients have severe hypoglycemic events versus 5–40 continuous
insulin infusion therapy. No episodes of ketoacidosis events were recorded.Conclusions:This is the first study with this design comparing multiple doses of insulin and
continuous insulin infusion therapy in Brazil showing no significant difference in
HbA1c; hypoglycemic events were less frequent during continuous insulin infusion
therapy than during multiple doses of insulin and the percentage of patients who
achieved a HbA1c less than 7.5% was greater during continuous insulin infusion
therapy than multiple doses of insulin therapy.