Effect of insulin pump infusion on comprehensive stress state of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis

Purpose: To assess changes in the comprehensive stress state of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) following treatment with insulin infusion pump.
Methods: A total of 240 patients suffering from DKA who received treatment at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from Feb. 2011 to Feb. 2014 were selected randomly and divided into a control group (120 cases), administered continuous intravenous insulin, and a treatment group (120 cases), administered insulin with an infusion pump. Relevant diabetes-associated serum indices, oxidative stress and stress hormone levels were compared between the groups at different time points.
Results: Levels of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbAlc), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and anion gap (AG) were lower (p < 0.05) in the treatment group than in the control group at various time points. Carbon dioxide combining power (CO₂^-CP) and C-reactive peptide levels in the treatment group were higher (p < 0.05) than those of the control group at different time points. Except for the level of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA), the values of other oxidative stress indices were higher (p < 0.05) in the treatment group than in the control group at various time points. Moreover, the treatment group had lower serum cortisol (Cor) and noradrenalin (NA) levels and higher levels of free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) than those of (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Insulin pump infusion effectively relieves the comprehensive stress state of patients suffering from DKA, and its therapeutic effect is superior to that of continuous instillation of low-dose insulin.

Keywords
Diabetic ketoacidosis; Insulin pump; Comprehensive stress state; Blood glucose; Carbon dioxide combining power; C-reactive peptide