Retrospective trial of long acting analogues detemir and degludec usage in children and adolescents to overcome glucose variability caused by dawn phenomenon and reverse dawn phenomenon

Abstract

Backgraund: Children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) need more insulin late in the evening (reverse dawn phenomenon (RDP)), and adolescents need more insulin yearly in the morning (dawn phenomenon (DP)); these cause blood glucose variability. Modern long acting insulin analogues allow to achieve satisfactory glycemic control.Aims: To study the characteristics of insulin therapy in children and adolescents with T1DM using insulin analogues detemir and degludec to overcome blood glucose variability caused by DP and RDP in different age periods.Materials and methods: We analyzed medical documents of 200 patients using detemir, admitted to pediatric endocrinology department in 2013–2019, at mean age 9.0 years (5.4; 13.0), with T1DM for 1.3 years (0.5; 3.0); and medical documents of 50 patients switched to degludec in 2018–2019 at mean age 12.0 years (10.5; 14.5) with T1DM for 3.0 years (1.5; 6.0). Before degludec they were on intensive insulin therapy with glargine (22), detemir (26), or insulin pump (2); 16 patients (32%) presented with clinical characteristics of DP, and 5 (10%) — RDP.Results: 67 children of 108 (62%) aged 1–9 years had redistribution of detemir doses to daytime; 58 adolescents of 92 (63%) aged 10–17 лет — to nighttime. Patients switched to degludec demonstrated decrease in HbA1с from 8.7% (7.8; 9.9) to 8.0% (7.4; 9.0) (р<0.001); fasting blood glucose from 9.8 mmol/l (7.4; 11.7) to 7.7 mmol/l (6.4; 8.6) (р<0.001); within-day variability from 35.2% (31.6; 40.9) to 23.5% (19.7; 28.6) (р<0.001); daily insulin dose from 0.98 U/kg/day (0.82; 1.14) to 0.87 U/kg/day (0.75; 1.07) (р=0.002). Sub-groups of patients with DP and RDP demonstrated decrease in fasting blood glucose (from 11.5 mmol/l (9.8; 13.8) to 7.5 mmol/l (6.6; 9.1) (р<0.001)), and late evening blood glucose (from 11.0 mmol/l (10.2; 11.2) to 8.0 mmol/l (6.7; 9.5) (р= 0.03)) correspondently. Achieved levels of glycemic control did not differ between sub-groups of patients initially using glargine or detemir.Conclusions: Compensation of T1DM may be complicated due to DP and RDP. Switching to degludec allowed to achieve better glycemic control and lowering of blood glucose variability caused by DP and DRP.