EVOLUTION OF BLOOD-GLUCOSE CONTROL AND RE TINOPATHY DURING LONG-TERM TREATMENT OF INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS USING INTRAPERITONEALINSULIN INFUSION

To evaluate the efficacy on blood glucose control of long-term periton eal insulin infusion and its consequences on the evolution of diabetic retinopathy, we analyzed retrospectively the values of glycosylated h aemoglobin measured quarterly and the retinal angiograms obtained afte r 1, 5 and 9 years from seventeen insulin-dependent diabetic patients treated by this technique during 9.0 +/- 2.2 years. Blood glucose cont rol was significantly improved from the first year of treatment (p < 0 .01). Seventy-one per cent of patients had a level of glycosylated ham oglobin below one standard deviation of normal values after five years and ninety-two per cent of 12 patients treated up to nine years remai ned in the same near-normal range. Glycaemic excursions below 0.5 g/l and over 2 g/l were limited to 5-7 % and 15-17 % of four times-daily c apillary glucose measurements respectively, along the whole IP insulin infusion period. Among 7 patients with no retinopathy (n = 1) or with mild to moderate nonproliferative retinopathy, requiring no specific ophthalmological treatment, (levels 20 to 40 on worse eye according to a simplified version of ETDRS classification, n = 6), 3 remained stab le, 2 improved and 2 impaired although remaining under level 50 of the classification, after 5 to 9 years. Nine patients with severe nonprol iferative (level 50, n = 1) or proliferative (level 65, n = 8) retinop athy, all treated by panretinal photocoagulation before initiation of IP treament, improved and one patient with severe nonproliferative ret inopathy, incompletely treated by laser photocoagulation, remained sta ble, after 5 to 9 years. No macular edematous reaction or impairment o f existing macular edema occurred after panretinal photocoagulation un der IP treament. These data indicate that a sustained near-normal bloo d glucose control can be achieved under long-term peritoneal insulin i nfusion, without significant impairment of diabetic retinopathy when a n initial ophthalmological evaluation, and a specific treament if nece ssary, are performed.