Diabetes Care 31:210-215, 2008 DOI: 10.2337/dc07-1378 © 2008 by the American Diabetes Association
A Randomized Trial Comparing Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion of Insulin Aspart Versus Insulin Lispro in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes
1 Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut Address correspondence and reprint requests to Stuart A. Weinzimer, MD, Yale University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 208064, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06520-8064. E-mail: stuart.weinzimer{at}yale.edu
OBJECTIVE—The safety and efficacy of insulin aspart continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) was compared with that of insulin lispro CSII in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Children and adolescents aged 4–18 years with diagnosed type 1 diabetes RESULTS—Baseline demographics, subject characteristics, and diabetes history were similar between treatment groups. After 16 weeks of treatment, insulin aspart CSII was noninferior to insulin lispro CSII as measured by change in A1C from baseline (aspart, –0.15 ± 0.05%; lispro, –0.05 ± 0.07% [95% CI of the treatment difference –0.27 to 0.07]; P = 0.241). No significant differences between treatment groups were observed in fasting plasma glucose, hyperglycemia, and rates of hypoglycemic episodes. At week 16, 59.7% of subjects in the aspart group and 43.8% of subjects in the lispro groups achieved age-specific American Diabetes Association A1C goals (<8.5% for subjects aged <6 years; <8% for subjects aged 6–18 years) (P = 0.040, corrected for baseline). Daily insulin dose (units per kilogram) was significantly lower at week 16 for subjects treated with aspart compared with those treated with lispro (0.86 ± 0.237 vs. 0.94 ± 0.233, P = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS—Insulin aspart was as safe and effective as insulin lispro for use in a CSII in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Abbreviations: ADA, American Diabetes Association CSII, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis ITT, intent-to-treat MDI, multiple daily injection SAE, severe adverse event SMPG, self-monitored plasma glucose
Intensive management of diabetes can delay the onset/progression of microvascular and cardiovascular complications associated with type 1 diabetes (1). Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy is the method of intensive insulin therapy that most closely mimics physiological insulin release by allowing for administration of 24-h adjustable basal rates and flexible mealtime bolus doses. CSII provides increased convenience and flexibility to patients with type 1 diabetes, enabling insulin delivery modes to be customized to meet the various daily requirements of the individual patient. These features may benefit young children in particular, who may have unpredictable eating and exercise patterns. Recently, an evidence-based consensus statement endorsed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes concluded that CSII (in conjunction with proper support measures) may be appropriate for children of all ages (2).
Insulin pump treatment has become increasingly popular with children and adolescents in recent years owing to technological advances in pumps and their associated catheters and infusion sets. Although there are conflicting comparison studies of the added benefit of CSII versus multiple daily injections (MDIs) in children, there are reports of A1C decreases averaging Rapid-acting insulin analogs (insulin aspart [NovoLog], insulin lispro [Humalog], and insulin glulisine [Apidra]) are indicated for CSII use in adults (13). The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of insulin analogs (solubility, uniform absorption, and rapid onset of action and short duration of action compared with regular human insulin) make them well suited for use in CSII. In adults with type 1 diabetes, insulin aspart and insulin lispro CSIIs have been shown to be as safe and effective as MDI therapy (14–17). Notably, the ADA and European Association for the Study of Diabetes recommended use of rapid-acting insulin analogs for CSII in pediatric subjects based upon the modest A1C improvements versus regular human insulin observed in adult studies (2). The popularity of insulin analog CSII treatment in pediatric patients has increased despite the lack of data from large, randomized clinical trials in this population. Furthermore, it is unclear whether there are any notable differences in efficacy, safety, or tolerability between rapid-acting insulin analogs administered via CSII in children and adolescents. Although several studies have compared insulin analog CSII versus MDI therapy and insulin aspart versus insulin lispro CSII in adults (18,19), this is the first large study conducted to date to evaluate and compare the safety and efficacy of two analogs in CSII (insulin aspart versus insulin lispro) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
This was a 16-week, open-label, multicenter, parallel-group study. Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes were randomly assigned in a 2:1 manner to receive either insulin aspart or insulin lispro by CSII via external pump with changes in reservoir, infusion set, and infusion site at least once every 48 h. Subjects were stratified by age (3–5, 6–11, and 12–18 years) before randomization to ensure that the two treatment groups had similar proportions of young children, children, and adolescents, respectively. This study was conducted at 45 sites in the U.S. in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use Good Clinical Practice guidelines (20,21). Subjects aged 18 years signed informed consent forms. For subjects aged <18 years of age, the caregiver provided written informed consent (including Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requirements and child assent) before the initiation of any trial-related activities.
This trial enrolled 298 subjects with type 1 diabetes for Subject-specific basal rates and premealtime bolus doses of insulin were selected at the discretion of the investigator. Self-monitored plasma glucose (SMPG) and dose diary entries were reviewed at each visit and doses were adjusted at the discretion of the investigator.
Efficacy assessments
Safety assessments
Statistical analysis
Comparisons of the A1C change-from-baseline values between treatment groups were made using an ANCOVA model with treatment and age-group as the fixed effects and baseline A1C as covariate; 95% CIs were constructed. Change-from-baseline A1C values are presented as least-squared mean ± SEM values. The primary analysis was the test for noninferiority of aspart to lispro in terms of the change from baseline in A1C to the end of treatment. Noninferiority of aspart to lispro treatment was achieved if the upper limit of the 95% CI of the difference between treatments (least-squared mean aspart –least-squared mean lispro) was not >0.4%. Descriptive statistics (and ANCOVA comparisons between treatment groups) were provided for the primary and secondary efficacy end points. The percentages of subjects who achieved age-specific A1C goals were analyzed using the following 2006 ADA A1C goals: <8.5% for subjects aged <6 years and <8% for subjects aged 6–18 years (23). Statistical significance was defined as P BMI was calculated from height and weight measurements obtained at screening and at the end of the study, and National Center for Health Statistics BMIAGE growth curves were used to calculate BMI scores adjusted by age and sex (z-BMI scores) (24). z-BMI scores are the number of SDs above or below the mean BMI and are commonly used for comparisons between pediatric treatment groups because "normal" BMI varies by age and sex in children and adolescents.
Baseline demographics and subject characteristics of the 298 enrolled subjects (aspart, n = 198; lispro, n = 100) were similar between treatment groups (Table 1). The ITT population included 197 subjects in the insulin aspart group and 99 subjects in the insulin lispro group. Overall, the study completion rate was 93%.
Efficacy In the ITT population, observed mean A1C values were 8.0 ± 0.94 and 8.2 ± 0.84% at baseline and 7.9 ± 0.93 and 8.1 ± 0.85% at the end of the study (last observation carried forward) for insulin aspart and insulin lispro, respectively. The change in A1C from baseline at the end of the study was –0.15 ± 0.05% in the insulin aspart group and –0.05 ± 0.07% in the insulin lispro group. Insulin aspart CSII was demonstrated to be noninferior to insulin lispro CSII (as measured by the change in A1C from baseline to the end of the study) as the upper limit of the 95% CI for the treatment difference did not exceed 0.4 (95% CI –0.27 to 0.07). At baseline, 50.3% of the subjects in the aspart group were at age-specific A1C goals compared with 40.4% of subjects in the lispro group (P = 0.138). At week 16, 59.7% of subjects in the aspart group and 43.8% of the subjects in the lispro group achieved ADA age-specific recommendations for A1C (P = 0.040, corrected for baseline percentage). Mean fasting plasma glucose values were comparable between treatments at baseline (aspart 170.8 ± 77.39 mg/dl; lispro 177.8 ± 67.61 mg/dl, P = 0.455) and at the end of the study (aspart 166.5 ± 67.28 mg/dl; lispro 180.2 ± 82.58 mg/dl, P = 0.113). Self-measured eight-point plasma glucose profiles showed similar patterns between treatments at baseline and at the end of the study (Fig. 1). The eight-point SMPG profiles collected before weeks 0 and 16 showed a similar pattern for both treatment groups. Plasma glucose values were generally highest 2 h after breakfast for both insulin aspart and insulin lispro. In general, week 16 values were lower than week 0 values. No statistically significant differences between treatment groups in mean SMPG values were observed at any of the eight time points at week 16. All mean lipid values were within normal limits and were not significantly different between the insulin aspart and insulin lispro treatment groups at baseline and at the end of the study.
As expected for a pediatric trial, mean body weight increased from baseline for both treatment groups during the trial but was comparable between treatment groups (aspart 1.8 ± 2.07 kg; lispro 1.6 ± 2.09 kg, P = 0.387). At the end of the study, mean z-BMI was 0.75 ± 0.768 in the insulin aspart groups and 0.72 ± 0.780 in the insulin lispro group, a mean change in z-BMI from baseline of 0.03 ± 0.241 and –0.02 ± 0.204, respectively. The difference between treatments in the change in z-BMI score from baseline at the end of study was not significant. The mean weight-adjusted daily insulin dose at week 0 was similar between treatment groups (aspart 0.89 ± 0.259 unit/kg, lispro 0.93 ± 0.247 unit/kg, P = 0.344). By week 16, the mean weight-adjusted daily dose was significantly lower in the aspart group compared with the lispro group (0.86 ± 0.237 vs. 0.94 ± 0.233 unit/kg, respectively, P = 0.018).
Hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and DKA
Hyperglycemic episodes were reported as adverse events for 21 (11%) subjects in the CSII insulin aspart group compared with 17 (17%) subjects in the CSII insulin lispro group. Most of the events were classified as mild or moderate. During the study, a total of three episodes that met the study criteria for DKA (21) were reported by three subjects (one in the aspart group and two in the lispro group). All subjects with DKA recovered and went on to complete the study.
Safety Seven serious adverse events (SAEs) were reported for six subjects (five subjects [2.5%] in the aspart group and one subject [1.0%] in the lispro group). Hypoglycemic seizure, DKA, hypoglycemia with accidental overdose of insulin, hyperglycemia, and skin lacerations were SAEs reported by subjects in the aspart treatment group; hypoglycemia was the SAE reported by one subject in the lispro group. All subjects recovered, and none of these subjects withdrew from the study as a result of their SAE. The following adverse events were classified as infusion site reactions: catheter site–related reaction, infusion site erythema, induration, irritation, pruritus, rash, reaction, swelling, or vesicles. The percentages of subjects who reported an infusion site reaction were similar between groups (aspart 17%, lispro 21%, P = 0.43). Treatment with either insulin aspart CSII or insulin lispro CSII did not appear to have any adverse effects on physical examination findings, vital signs, or hematology, biochemistry, or urinalysis parameters.
Results from this study indicate that insulin aspart CSII is as effective as insulin lispro CSII in children and adolescents aged 4–18 years. Mean fasting plasma glucose, SMPG, and A1C values were comparable from baseline to the end of the study for both treatment groups. This finding was not surprising considering that subjects enrolled in the trial were not naive to CSII treatment with insulin analogs, as 44% of subjects had used insulin aspart and 56% had used insulin lispro before study entry with mean durations of CSII use of 121 and 132 weeks, respectively. This study was not a treat-to-target study with defined dosing guidelines. Investigators reviewed subject diaries and subject-specific basal and bolus doses were determined at their discretion. For this reason, the baseline and end of study data provide insight into the safety and glycemic control achieved with insulin analog CSII therapy in children and adolescents in a "real-world" clinical setting. Notably, the weight-adjusted mean daily dose of insulin aspart was significantly less than that of insulin lispro. Although subjects in the aspart group used less insulin, they were able to achieve comparable levels of glycemic control at the end of the study. The mean total daily dose of insulin aspart at the end of the study (0.86 unit/kg) was similar to the dose reported at the end of another insulin aspart CSII study of 16 subjects aged 8–21 years (0.9 unit/kg) (25).
Nocturnal hypoglycemia is a serious concern for the pediatric population. The rates of major nocturnal hypoglycemic episodes or episodes of plasma glucose In this study, the incidence of hyperglycemia for both treatment groups was lower (aspart,11%; lispro 17%) than in previous adult studies of insulin aspart CSII (18,26). However, the lower rate of hyperglycemic episodes in this study may be due to the fact that investigators had to report hyperglycemia as an adverse event and not merely as any instance when plasma glucose is >300 mg/dl. In summary, insulin aspart CSII provides glycemic efficacy noninferior to that of insulin lispro CSII at a significantly lower total daily dose, with no increased risk of hypoglycemia over 16 weeks of therapy in pediatric subjects familiar with pump therapy. Overall, insulin aspart CSII was shown to be safe and tolerable in pediatric subjects aged 4–18 years. The results of this study confirm that insulin analog CSII therapy is efficacious in appropriately selected children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Insulin analog CSII therapy provides a safe and effective insulin delivery option for pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers who desire the convenience and flexibility associated with CSII.
This clinical trial was sponsored by Novo Nordisk (Princeton, NJ). We acknowledge the patients and their caregivers who participated in this trial and the following principal investigators: Javier Aisenberg, Holley Allen, Yaw Appaigyei-Dankah, Rajat Bhushan, Clifford Bloch, Bruce Bode, Bruce Boston, Rosalind Brown, Monina Cabrera, H. Peter Chase, Kevin Corley, Marsha Davenport, Larry Deeb, Paul Desrosiers, Joan DiMartino-Nardi, Pavel Fort, Sherry Franklin, Richard Guthrie, Daniel Hale, Khalid Hasan, Christopher Houk, Stephen Kemp, Wendy Lane, John Liljenquist, Jadranka Popovic, Gnanagurudasan Prakasam, Teresa Quattrin, Barry Reiner, Kenneth Rettig, Judith Ross, Dara Schuster, Sherwyn Schwartz, Dorothy Shulman, Leslie Soyka, Martha Spencer, Svetlana Ten, Bruce Trippe, Eva Tsalikian, Figen Ugrasbul, Emily Walvoord, Nancy Wright, Alan Wynne, and Fereydoun Zangeneh. Editorial assistance was provided by Angela Campbell and Jennifer Faleska.
Published ahead of print at http://care.diabetesjournals.org on 5 November 2007. DOI: 10.2337/dc07-1378. Clinical trial reg. no. NCT00097071, clinicaltrials.gov. D.B. has been a paid consultant for Novo Nordisk. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. Received for publication July 17, 2007. Accepted for publication October 25, 2007.
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