[Hypoglycemia in children with diabetes treated with human or porcine insulin].

If hypoglycemia unawareness in diabetes is related to human insulin, its use would mean an increased risk of unconscious hypoglycemia. In a prospective study in 59 children treated from onset of diabetes by either human or porcine insulin of equal purity for a mean observation period of more than 3 years, no significant difference in the incidence of hypoglycemic coma was detected: 9/29 (31%) of the children treated by human insulin compared to 8/30 (27%) of those treated by porcine insulin had 1 or more severe hypoglycemic episodes. At the time of the first coma there was no significant difference in age, duration of diabetes, insulin dose, or HbA1 between the groups. Thus, human insulin is not considered to be an additional risk factor for the development of hypoglycemic coma in diabetic children.