Backing for artificial pancreas
Thursday April 19th, 2018
Artificial pancreas systems are a “safe and effective” treatment for people with type 1 diabetes, according to an analysis published today.
The evidence points to the devices offering better glycaemic control than standard treatment, according to the report in The BMJ.
Eleni Bekiari, of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and colleagues studied the findings of 41 randomised controlled trials involving more than 1,000 patients in total.
When used overnight and over a 24-hour period, the artificial pancreas was associated with nearly 150 extra minutes of normoglycaemia.
It reduced time in hyperglycaemia by about two hours and time in hypoglycaemia by 20 minutes.
Despite the overall findings, there are grounds for caution because of the small sample size and short duration of most trials, they add.
They write: “the effect of artificial pancreas use on quality of life and on reducing patient burden should be further explored.”
Writing in the journal Professor Norman Waugh says these “closed loop systems” have much to offer but need improved supporting evidence to convince policy-makers of their cost-effectiveness.
Artificial pancreas therapy for outpatients with type 1 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 19 April 2018
Link: http://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1310
Tags: Diabetes | Europe | Internal Medicine
Printer
friendly page