Insulin Pumps Better Than Injections for Kids With Type 1 Diabetes: Study

Devices called insulin pumps may work better at controlling blood sugar in children with type 1 diabetes than insulin injections, a new study finds. They might also cause fewer complications, the Australian researchers said. "This is the largest study of insulin-pump use in children," wrote a team led by Dr. Elizabeth Davis of the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth. "It also has the longest follow-up period of any study of insulin-pump therapy in children. Our data confirm that insulin-pump therapy provides an improvement in glycemic control, which is sustained for at least seven years." The study was published Aug. 18 in the journal Diabetologia. Davis's team compared outcomes for 345 children, aged 2 to 19, who were using insulin pumps to control their type 1 diabetes to a similar number of children who were receiving insulin injections. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_139865.html