A blood-sugar sensor and insulin pump can help patients with type I diabetes control their condition more effectively than multiple daily insulin injections, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study, conducted at 30 centres across North America, included 485 patients aged seven to 70, who were randomised to use blood sugar sensor augmented insulin pump therapy or receive daily multiple insulin injections for one year.
Patients in the sensor augmented insulin pump therapy group used a blood-glucose sensor, which wirelessly transmitted information to an insulin pump to show how the patient would react to low or high sugar levels.
The study findings showed that, after one year, the patients in the sensor augmented insulin pump therapy group had an average decrease in blood sugar levels from 8.3% to 7.5%, and patients in the group using daily insulin injections had an average decrease in blood sugar levels from 8.3% to 8.1%.
The proportion of population who reached the A1c target of 7% or less was greater in the sensor augmented insulin pump group than the daily injections group.
