J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol. 2017; 9(2): 132-137 | DOI: 10.4274/jcrpe.3925

Higher-Than-Conventional Subcutaneous Regular Insulin Doses Following Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Children and Adolescents

Özlem Bað¹, Selma Tunç², Özlem Nalbantoðlu², Çiðdem Ecevit¹, Ayþel Öztürk¹, Behzat Özkan², Korcan Demir^3
1Dr. Behçet Uz Children’S Hospital, Clinic Of Pediatrics, Izmir, Turkey
²Dr. Behçet Uz Children’S Hospital, Clinic Of Pediatric Endocrinology, Izmir, Turkey
³Dokuz Eylül University Faculty Of Medicine, Department Of Pediatrics, Division Of Pediatric Endocrinology, Izmir, Turkey

Objective: To evaluate the effect of initial insulin dosage on glycemic control in the first 48 hours of subcutaneous regular insulin therapy after resolution of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
Methods: Records of patients with DKA hospitalized in the past 3 years [n=76, median age=10.0 (6.0-12.0) years, Male/Female: 44/32] were reviewed. The patients were designated into two groups according to distribution of starting doses of subcutaneous insulin. Group 1 (n=28) received a median dose of 1.45 U/kg/day (1.41-1.5) and group 2 (n=48) a median dose of 0.96 U/kg/day (0.89-1). Clinical and laboratory data were analyzed.
Results: Median, minimum, and maximum blood glucose levels of Group 1 in the first 48 hours of treatment were significantly lower than that of Group 2 [213 (171-242) vs. 255 (222-316), p=<0.001; 102 (85-151) vs. 129 (105-199), p=0.004; and 335 (290-365) vs. 375 (341-438), p=0.001, respectively]. The number of patients who experienced hypoglycemia (<70 mg/dL) were similar [Group 1, 5 (17.9%) vs. Group 2, 4 (8.3%), p=0.276] and none had severe hypoglycemia. In Group 1, the ratio of blood glucose levels within the target range (100-200 mg/dL) were higher (37.5% vs. 12.5%) and the number of results >200 mg/dL were lower (50% vs. 81.3%) compared to Group 2 (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively).
Conclusion: After resolution of DKA, a higher initial dose of 1.4-1.5 U/kg/day regular insulin is associated with better glycemic control in children and adolescents without an increase in risk of hypoglycemia.

Keywords: Type 1 diabetes mellitus, regular insulin, initial doses, children, adolescent

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