Quality of Life in Children With Diabetes Treated With Insulin Pump Compared With Multiple Daily Injections in Tertiary Care Center

• Published in: Clinical medicine insights. Endocrinology and diabetes Vol. 13; p. 1179551420959077
• Main Authors: Al Shaikh, Adnan, Al Zahrani, Abdullah M, Qari, Yousef H, AbuAlnasr, Abdulaziz A, Alhawsawi, Waseem K, Alshehri, Khalid A, AlShaikh, Sahl A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 2020; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Diabetes; Drug delivery systems; Injections; Insulin; Original; Pediatrics; Quality of life; diabetes mellitus; Health related Quality Of Life; multiple daily injections; children; insulin pump
• ISSN: 1179-5514; 1179-5514
• DOI: 10.1177/1179551420959077

Background: Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion (CSII) and Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) have been widely used as options in treating diabetes in childhood. Glycemic control is important to reduce diabetes complications; however, more focus needs to be on patients’ Quality of Life (QoL). Diabetes and QoL have strong associations in terms of patients’ overall health including their psychology, physical well-being, compliance with medication. A previous systematic review stressed that strong evidence to deny or prove the benefits of insulin pump therapy on health-related quality of life is deficient. The aim of this study is to assess the health-related quality of life and the psychological impacts of children with diabetes who use CSII and MDI treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study included 68 pediatric patients with type 1 Diabetes (T1DM) who were treated in a tertiary center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We used the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 3.0 Diabetes Module and this module assesses the health-related quality of life of children with diabetes. Results: Thirty-four (50%) participants found to be on MDI, of which 21 (61.8%) are males, compared to 34 (50%) patients using CSII, of which 12 (35.2%) are females. Participants using CSII had statistically significant better symptom control, less treatment difficulties but were more worrisome than MDI participants. Conclusion: CSII group had better quality of life in almost all aspects even though they were more worrisome. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed to give comprehensive generalizations.