Retrospective analysis of daily glucose profile in type 1 diabetic patients with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII)

A retrospective analysis of blood glucose control was performed in 17 type 1 diabetic patients who regularly monitored their blood glucose concentration by visual strips over a period of 3-83 months. Analysis was performed by a patient management software loaded on a personal computer. In this cohort of patients the average daily blood glucose reading was 1.6 +/- 0.3. Blood glucose readings were collected more frequently following meal ingestion (40.3%) than in the post-absorptive state (24.6%; P less than 0.05). Blood glucose concentration fluctuated from a basal level of 146 +/- 5 mg/dl to 167 +/- 4 mg/dl in the post-prandial phases with an average daily value of 156 +/- 2 mg/dl. Blood glucose values below 80 mg/dl were evenly distributed throughout the day, while hyperglycemia (greater than 300 mg/dl) occurred more commonly after meals (42%). Daily blood glucose was higher during weekends (164 +/- 5 mg/dl) than during weekdays (155 +/- 2 mg/dl; P less than 0.05). A weak correlation was found between the number of blood glucose readings/day and daily blood glucose level. These results suggest that long-term maintenance of satisfactory metabolic control is attainable in type 1 diabetic patients and that this is mainly dependent upon subject self awareness.