Add-on treatment with intermediate-acting insulin versus sliding-scale insulin for patients with type 2 diabetes or...

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness and safety of intermediate-acting insulin (IMI) titrated on body weight and glucocorticoid dose with that of short-acting sliding-scale insulin (SSI) in patients on recurrent high-dose glucocorticoid-containing chemotherapy. We enrolled 26 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus or random blood glucose level >12 mmol/l in a previous cycle of chemotherapy in a randomized crossover study. In two consecutive cycles of glucocorticoid-containing chemotherapy, participants were treated with either IMI or SSI, as add-on to routine diabetes medication. We compared time spent in target range (3.9-10 mmol/l), measured by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and the occurrence of hypoglycaemia. IMI resulted in a higher proportion of glucose values within target range than SSI (34.4 vs 20.9%; p < 0.001). There were no severe or symptomatic hypoglycaemic events. Two participants in each group had a subclinical hypoglycaemia detected only by CGM. Once-daily IMI resulted in better glycaemic control than SSI in patients with glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycaemia during chemotherapy. Safety was not compromised as the incidence of hypoglycaemia was low and not different between both regimens.