Abstract
AIMS: To compare insulin pump therapy and multiple daily injections (MDI) in patients with type 2 diabetes receiving basal and prandial insulin analogues. METHODS: After a 2-month dose-optimization period, 331 patients with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels ≥8.0% and ≤12% were randomized to pump therapy or continued MDI for 6 months [randomization phase (RP)]. The MDI group was subsequently switched to pump therapy during a 6-month continuation phase (CP). The primary endpoint was the between-group difference in change in mean HbA1c from baseline to the end of the RP. RESULTS: The mean HbA1c at baseline was 9% in both groups. At the end of the RP, the reduction in HbA1c was significantly greater with pump therapy than with MDI (-1.1 ± 1.2% vs -0.4 ± 1.1%; p < 0.001). The pump therapy group maintained this improvement to 12 months while the MDI group, which was switched to pump therapy, showed a 0.8% reduction: the final HbA1c level was identical in both arms. In the RP, total daily insulin dose (TDD) was 20.4% lower with pump therapy than with MDI and remained stable in the CP. The MDI-pump group showed a 19% decline in TDD, such that by 12 months TDD was equivalent in both groups. There were no differences in weight gain or ketoacidosis between groups. In the CP, one patient in each group experienced severe hypoglycaemia. CONCLUSIONS: Pump therapy has a sustained durable effect on glycaemic control in uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.