Artificial endocrine pancreas with a closed-loop system effectively suppresses the accelerated hyperglycemic status after reperfusion during aortic surgery

Glucose control using an artificial pancreas in a severe COVID-19 patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a case report

The usefulness and safety of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems in adult patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been reported. Using CGM might reduce the exposure patients and healthcare workers to COVID-19 and limit the use of personal protective equipment during the pandemic. CGM devices measure glucose in the subcutaneous interstitial fluid, but the accuracy of this technique has not been established in critically ill patients. The artificial pancreas, STG-55 (Nikkiso, Tokyo), is a closed-loop device that conducts continuous blood glucose monitoring using a peripheral vein. We used the STG-55 for glucose control in a 60-year-old woman with severe COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit. Due to severe respiratory failure, the patient was intubated, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was introduced. Because she had hyperglycemia despite high-dose intravenous insulin therapy, we decided to use STG-55 for glucose control. The STG-55 safely titrated the insulin infusion and monitored glucose levels. Fifty-six hours after adopting the STG-55, it was removed because the blood sampling failed. No episodes of hypoglycemia were observed despite deep sedation during this period. In conclusion, this case demonstrates the potential utility of an artificial pancreas in patients with severe COVID-19.

Closed-loop artificial endocrine pancreas from Japan

The development of a closed-loop artificial pancreas (AP) in the Western countries and Japan is different. In Western countries, wearable AP with a closed-loop glycemic control system has been developed as a treatment for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. On the contrary, in Japan, bedside closed-loop AP explored by a Japanese company (Nikkiso, Tokyo, Japan) has developed as perioperative glycemic control device in surgical patients and acute care patients with emergency. In this article, we reviewed the scientific evidence in the past and present and future prospects of perioperative glycemic control using bedside AP with a closed-loop system in Japan. Conventional perioperative strict glycemic controls have three major problems: hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and variability in blood glucose concentrations. In Japan, perioperative strict glycemic control using the current bedside AP STG-55 (Nikkiso, Tokyo, Japan) has been developed since 2010. This novel glycemic control method achieved not only stable glycemic control without hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and less variability of blood glucose concentrations but also reduced postoperative infectious complications in patients undergoing major surgeries. Among the rapidly increasing number of surgical or emergency patients with diabetes, frailty, and sarcopenia of intrinsic glucose intolerance, more sophisticated and smaller AP available easily in operating rooms and intensive care units will be warranted to promote improved therapeutic outcomes in such critically ill patients.