Insulin Pump and Closed Loop Systems' Use in People Living with Diabetes: A Narrative Review of Clinical and Cost-Effectiveness to Enable Access to Technology and Meet the Need of Payers

The use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion delivery via insulin pumps is today considered standard of care for type 1 diabetes (T1D). Closed-loop systems combining continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with automated algorithm-driven insulin delivery have been shown to be safe and efficacious in randomized controlled studies and in real-life studies in both pediatric and adult individuals with T1D. Implementation of hybrid closed-loop (HCL) systems have shown incremental effectiveness with further reduction of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Although less extensively studied in type 2 diabetes (T2D), insulin pumps have demonstrated their effectiveness on glucose control together with the reduction in insulin needs and a neutral effect on weight. Recent studies have also shown promising results with the use of HCL in T2D. Cost-effectiveness studies both in T1D and T2D have shown that pump is cost effective in several countries, leading to improvements in quality adjusted life years. Insulin pumps are currently reimbursed for T1D in many European countries, but only in a few for individuals with T2D. HCL systems are to be evaluated in future trials performed in T2D to compare their incremental efficacy and cost effectiveness in comparison with available intensification tools which include multiple daily insulin injections, metformin, SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists. There is a need for updated guidelines for the use of CSII and HCL in individuals living with T2D based on the emerging evidence, identifying, and recommending for the people who'd benefit the most, which would eventually form a basis for the reimbursement and health policies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Glycemic Control in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Aim

To examine the impact of the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on both the glycemic control and the daily habits of a group of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) using flash continuous glucose monitoring devices (flash CGMs).

Methods

Retrospective analysis based on all the information gathered in virtual consultations from a cohort of 50 adult patients with T1DM with follow-up at our site. We compared their CGM metrics during lockdown with their own previous data before the pandemic occurred, as well as the potential psychological and therapeutic changes.

Results

We observed a reduction of average glucose values: 160.26 ± 22.55 mg/dL vs 150 ± 20.96 mg/dL, P = .0009; estimated glycosylated hemoglobin: 7.21 ± 0.78% vs 6.83 ± 0.71%, P = .0005; glucose management indicator 7.15 ± 0.57% vs 6.88 ± 0.49%; P = .0003, and glycemic variability: 40.74 ± 6.66 vs 36.43 ± 6.09 P < .0001. Time in range showed an improvement: 57.46 ± 11.85% vs a 65.76 ± 12.09%, P < .0001, without an increase in percentage of time in hypoglycemia.

Conclusions

COVID-19 lockdown was associated with an improvement in glycemic control in patients with T1DM using CGMs.