Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Lipohypertrophy - Impact of the Intervention on Glycemic Control via Patient's Examination and Retraining on Change of Infusion Set.

OBJECTIVE: Lipohypertrophy (LH) is a common complication of insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We examined whether an intervention consisting of LH assessment and retraining on insulin infusion set use improves glycemic control on subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) in patients with T1DM. METHODS: The intervention was conducted in 79 consecutive patients with T1DM. Data on glucose levels, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and insulin doses were collected at baseline and after a median of 22 weeks (20-31.75 weeks). RESULTS: A total of 46 patients with T1DM (23 [50%] women) participating in the follow-up were characterized by a median age of 29 years (25-33.8 years), body mass index of 24.6 ± 3.3 kg/m2, T1DM duration of 16.5 years (8.3-20 years), and subcutaneous insulin infusion duration of 7 years (4-10.8 years). Patients' median HbA1c fell from 7.4% (6.7%-8.2%) to 7.05% (6.4%-7.6%) (P < .001), daily insulin dose/kg decreased (0.7 ± 0.20 vs 0.68 ± 0.15 IU/kg; P = .017) together with the total daily insulin dose (50.3 [40.5-62.7] vs 47.6 [39.8-62.1] IU; P = .019]. Furthermore, the percentage of basal insulin dose increased (43.0% [36-50] vs 44.0% [39.0-50.0]; P = .010], whereas the percentage of bolus dose decreased (57% [50-64] vs 56% [50-61], P = .010). CONCLUSIONS: The structured LH-related intervention in patients with T1DM on insulin pumps resulted in better glycemic control and a decrease in total daily insulin dose.

Insulin-induced Lipohypertrophy in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Treated with an Insulin Pump.

BACKGROUND: Lipohypertrophy (LH) of subcutaneous tissue is an insulin-induced complication occurring in patients with diabetes. We aimed to define the prevalence of LH and identify its risk factors in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) patients treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 79 consecutive CSII-treated T1DM patients. The diagnose of LH was based on ultrasonography (US) as a reference method, physical examination was also performed. Clinical characteristics were available from the medical records. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 28 years (interquartile range [IQR], 24-30.5) with a body mass index (BMI) of 24.5 ± 3.5 kg/m2, HbA1c 7.1% (IQR, 6.7-8.1), T1DM duration 15 (9-20) years, and CSII use duration of 8 year (IQR, 5-11). LH was detected by US in 75 (94.9%) patients. This value was much higher than this obtained by visual assessment (n = 39, 49.4%) or palpation (n = 59, 74.7%). In univariate analyses, the following risk factors for occurrence of 5 and more LH lesions were identified: the ratio of insulin dose to body mass exceeding 0.7 IU/kg (OR, 3.69; 95% CI, 1.43-10.01) and the total daily insulin dose (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.09). A higher dose of insulin per kg remained a significant risk factor of LH amount in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: This selected T1DM cohort treated with CSII had a very high prevalence of LH. US assessment should be considered as a reference method for LH screening in T1DM patients. The identified risk factors for the number of LH lesions were related to insulin dosing.

Habits related to the use of insulin infusion set in patients with type 1 diabetes on pump therapy - the effect of the educational intervention.

INTRODUCTION: Proper use of insulin infusion sets (IIS) plays an important role in pump therapy of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We assessed the habits associated with the use of IIS in patients with T1DM treated with insulin pump. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 79 T1DM patients who were examined for the presence of lipohypertrophy (LH) and retrained for proper IIS use. They completed a standard questionnaire regarding IIS at the time of study entry and at the follow-up. R e s u l t s: At baseline, most of the patients declared to have been using a plastic cannula (n = 68; 86.1%), changing the infusion set regularly (n = 65; 82.3%), and placing the infusion sets on the abdomen wall (n = 68; 86.1%). The most common rotation habit was the "curve pattern" on both sides of the umbilicus (n = 16; 20.3%). After a median of 23 weeks (IQR 20-34), 58 patients were available for the follow-up. A rise in the proportion of patients who declared to change IIS regularly (n = 48; 82.8% vs. n = 57; 98.3%, p = 0.016), change IIS every 2 to 3 days (n = 27; 46.6% vs. n = 35; 60.3%, p = 0.043), use "crisscross" rotation (n = 5; 8.8% vs. n = 12; 21.4%, p = 0.027) was observed. There were less patients reporting not having repeatable rotation manner (n = 15; 26.3% vs. n = 2; 5.4%, p = 0.009). C o n c l u s i o n s: A substantial proportion of T1DM patients on pump therapy declare that they do not follow the recommended principles of IIS use. The intervention consisting of LH assessment and retrain- ing of proper use of IIS might be effective in improving patient compliance.

A multitude of variations in the configuration of the circle of Willis: an autopsy study.

The circle of Willis (CW) is an anastomotic system of arteries located at the base of the brain. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anatomic configuration of the CW in the Polish population and to compare results with previously conducted research. Brains were obtained from 100 recently deceased human adults, and the diameters of cerebral vessels were measured using a slide caliper. Cerebral vessels were observed, paying attention to their origin, diameter, typical configuration and variations. Twenty-seven percent of cases presented the typical literature pattern. The remaining 73 % of all cases were atypical; in 16 % the CW was incomplete and in 57 % complete. Atypical findings involved the posterior communicating artery (PcomA), 62 %; anterior communicating artery (AcomA), 22 %; anterior cerebral artery (ACA), 14 %; posterior cerebral artery (PCA), 8 %. The most common variations were bilateral hypoplastic PcomAs (27 % of cases) and unilateral hypoplastic PcomAs (19 % of cases). Only 9 of the 22 types of CW variations classified previously in the literature were observed, and 26 variations (36 cases) in our study were labeled as 'other' type. Mean diameter values for typical CW patterns were internal carotid artery = 3.6 mm, ACA = 2.3 mm, AcomA = 1.9 mm, PCA = 2.2 mm and PcomA = 1.4 mm. Circle of Willis variations have a large impact on clinical practice. This study shows many rare variations that should be taken into consideration to avoid any unexpected complications during surgical procedures involving cerebral vessels.