Continuous intravenous insulin infusion in the management of brittle diabetes: etiologic and therapeutic implications.

Continuous intravenous insulin infusion (CIVII) was used to treat five brittle insulin-dependent diabetic women (aged 16-29 yr) who had failed to achieve satisfactory glycemic control during intensified subcutaneous insulin treatment including continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). Insulin was infused through an indwelling central venous catheter by a portable pump for 3-16 mo. During CIVII, only three subjects obtained satisfactory glycemic control and only for short periods. Generally, as with CSII, control was erratic and unpredictable and three subjects intermittently had high insulin requirements (200 U/day). By contrast, three stable insulin-dependent diabetic subjects achieved near-normoglycemia within 1-3 days of starting CIVII with daily insulin dosages of 30-90 U. The lives of all five brittle subjects continued to be disrupted by frequent hospital admissions during CIVII treatment. Deliberate interference with their own treatment (including tampering with pumps and central venous catheters) was thought to be a major contribution to instability in two of the brittle subjects. In the others, the ineffectiveness of CIVII suggests that brittleness was not due solely to defective subcutaneous insulin absorption, as had previously been suggested in other CSII-unresponsive brittle subjects. Although CIVII has reportedly been successful in managing brittle diabetes, the technique may not be useful in all brittle individuals, as illustrated by the poor glycemic responses of these subjects and the serious complications (including local infection, septicemia, and thrombosis) they suffered.