Effect of age of infusion site and type of rapid-acting analog on pharmacodynamic parameters of insulin boluses in youth with type 1 diabetes receiving insulin pump therapy.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of type of insulin analog and age of insertion site on the pharmacodynamic characteristics of a standard insulin bolus in youth with type 1 diabetes receiving insulin pump therapy.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Seventeen insulin pump-treated adolescents with type 1 diabetes underwent two euglycemic clamp procedures after a 0.2 unit/kg bolus of either insulin aspart or lispro on day 1 and day 4 of insulin pump site insertion. The glucose infusion rate (GIR) required to maintain euglycemia was the primary pharmacodynamic measure.

RESULTS

There were no statistically significant differences in any of the pharmacodynamic parameters between aspart and lispro during day 1 and day 4. However, when the two groups were combined, time to discontinuation of exogenous glucose infusion, and time to half-maximal onset and offset of insulin action were observed significantly earlier during day 4 compared with day 1 (P = 0.03-0.0004), but the overall area under the GIR curve was similar on day 1 and day 4.

CONCLUSIONS

With both insulin aspart and lispro, there is an earlier peak and shorter duration of action with increasing duration of infusion site use, but overall insulin action is not affected.