[Therapeutic problems of patients with diabetes mellitus after total pancreatectomy]

Followed were 11 patients after total pancreatectomy (for carcinoma--6 patients, for sequelae of the chronic pancreatitis--5 patients), aged 52-62 years. The follow-up period ranged 5 months up to 4 years. All pacreatomized patients had diabetes needing insulin administration, although the need for insulin decreased with time down to 16-40 units/24 hours after one year. The diabetes was rather brittle with high incidence of hypoglycaemia. In 7 patients keeping exact records the incidence of hypoglycaemic events was 16-24 within the first month, 9-16 in the third month following pancreatectomy. In two patients death was due to the severe hypoglycaemia developing in the later postoperative period. The observations call for a necessary "intensive metabolic care" of every patient, totally pancreatomised. This intensive metabolic care must include not only careful instructing the patients but also his or her family how to behave in a totally different metabolic condition of the patient. Self-control, including blood sugar estimation several times a day gets special importance.