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Diabetic retinopathy after 3 years' treatment with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII)
Author(s) -
Olsen T.,
Ehlers N.,
Richelsen B.,
BeckNielsen H.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1987.tb06998.x
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetic retinopathy , insulin , retinopathy , diabetes mellitus , ophthalmology , endocrinology
Twenty‐four insulin‐dependent juvenile diabetics with no or minimal background retinopathy were randomly allocated to conventional insulin therapy (CIT) or continuous sc insulin infusion (CSII) administrated by a portable pump. At the present 3 year follow‐up, there was one drop‐out in the CSII group. Although the metabolic control was significantly better in the CSII patients, both groups improved significantly in metabolic control during the observation period. After 3 years, the HbA1c level was 7.4% ± 1.2 (± SD) in the CSII patients and 8.6% ± 1.6 in the CIT patients ( P < 0.01). As compared to the status at the beginning of the study, a progression of diabetic retinopathy (criteria: development of more than 2 microaneurysms) was observed in 4 of 11 in the CSII group and in 5 of 12 in the CIT group ( P > 0.05). None of the patients were seen to develop soft exudates or neovascularisations. This study confirms the impression gained from a previous one‐year follow‐up of similar progression of retinopathy in patients on CSII and CIT.