Crossing the technology divide: practical strategies for transitioning patients from multiple daily insulin injections to sensor-augmented pump therapy.

PURPOSE: To describe the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) systems compared with self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) and multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy; to assess the benefits of sensor-augmented pump therapy (SAPT) in patients with type 1 diabetes; and to present an evidence-based practical protocol for introducing SAPT in patients with no prior pump or CGM experience.
CONCLUSION: Continuous glucose monitoring and CSII have advantages over SMBG and MDI, respectively, in terms of A1C and hypoglycemia reduction. The Sensor-Augmented Pump Therapy for A1C Reduction (STAR) 3 trial demonstrated that initiating both CGM and CSII in selected adult and pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes unable to meet glycemic goals with intensive insulin injection therapy significantly improved glucose control. In all subjects using SAPT, A1C levels fell rapidly from baseline to 3 months and remained significantly lower than among subjects in the SMBG+MDI group for 1 year. A distinguishing feature of the STAR 3 study was its stepwise protocol for systematizing education and self-management support using Web-based training modules and therapy management software. The demonstrated strengths of this education protocol recommend it as a model for implementing SAPT in the broader population of patients with type 1 diabetes who have not achieved their glycemic goals with optimized MDI therapy.