[Short-acting insulin analogs].

Patients with diabetes mellitus type I usually are treated with a multiple injection regimen comprising rapid-acting insulin before meals and intermediate-acting insulin at bedtime. Recently, the rapid-acting insulin analogue insulin LISPRO was introduced on the Dutch market. This form of insulin is very rapidly taken up into the bloodstream from the subcutaneous tissue. The advantages of the use of insulin LISPRO are the comfort of injecting the insulin just before a meal, the more rapid correction of incidental hyperglycaemia and the slightly lower incidence of (nocturnal) hypoglycaemia in comparison with conventional rapid-acting insulin. There is no argument in favour of switching diabetics to insulin LISPRO if they are well-controlled with normal rapid-acting insulin and have few episodes of hypoglycaemia. In some persons the duration of action of insulin LISPRO may be too short, leading to preprandial hyperglycaemia. This can be avoided by using a second injection of intermediate-acting insulin, either before breakfast or before lunch.