Study to Find Out if Intensive Diabetes Clinic and Continuous Glucose Monitors Help Teenagers With Diabetes

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center68 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this research study is to find out ways to help pre-teens and teens and their families to improve diabetes control and to help with the burden of diabetes management. Specifically, the study aims to find out if coming to diabetes clinic more frequently and for a longer period of time helps adolescents with diabetes, and if adolescents who wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for 3-5 days a month will have better diabetes control.

Good glycemic control is critical in preventing chronic complications of type 1 diabetes. However, achieving good glycemic control remains elusive for many adolescents. This study evaluates two clinic-based approaches for improving glycemic control in adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes - an intensive diabetes support and education program alone and the same intensive diabetes support and education program together with continuous glucose monitoring - in comparison with standard diabetes care.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Interventions

The psychology intervention is based in part on an intervention to maintain parental support for diabetes care in adolescence which was developed by Anderson and colleagues (1999). The first session will include education to parents and children regarding the importance of sharing responsibility for treatment related tasks. The second session will include a discussion of the treatment sharing plan developed at the first visit and problems that may have occurred will be discussed. The third session will include a discussion of planning for possible future problems. Visits 1, 2, and 3 will include 30 minutes of diabetes education.

Continuous Glucose MonitorDEVICE

Patients in the intensive diabetes clinic plus CGM group will wear the iPro after the baseline visit followed by every month for 4 months.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 10 YearsMax age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Type 1 diabetes mellitus of at least 12 months duration, followed by Rainbow Babies and Children's Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes Division * Most recent HbA1c \>= 8.5% * Patients must be willing to check their blood sugar at least 4 times daily while wearing the CGM * Patients and families must be willing to come to diabetes clinic once a month for 4 months Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to understand and/or speak the English language * Pregnancy * Psychological counseling with Dr. Rebecca Hazen regarding diabetes adherence prior to the study

Locations (1)

UHCMC

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Glycemic Control

Serum hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) will be measured in all groups at the baseline visit and visit 4.

Time frame: Baseline and visit 4

Secondary Outcomes

Insulin Dose Changes

Insulin doses in units per kilogram per day will be calculated at baseline and visit 4.

Time frame: Baseline and visit 4

Number of Hypoglycemic Excursions (CGM Glucose <70 mg/dL)

CGM downloads at baseline and visit 4 will be used to tabulate the number of episodes of blood glucoses \< 70 mg/dL. At each visit patients will be asked to recall any episodes of severe hypoglycemia that occurred since the last visit. Data from the continuous glucose monitors will be used to evaluate the percent of time that patients are below 70 mg/dL and the number of glucose excursions below 70 mg/dL. Total number of excursions under 70 mg/dL from baseline to visit 4 will be added together.

Time frame: Total from baseline to visit 4

Adherence to Prescribed Diabetes Regimen

Diabetes Self Management Profile, given to participant (child) at baseline and visit 4. Minimum score zero, maximum score 88. A higher score indicates better adherence. The DSMP is a 10-15 minute, 25-question, validated, structured interview of adherence with diabetes self-management tasks administered separately to parents and youth. It was verbally administered by one pediatric endocrinologist and one trained research assistant. It assesses self-management of exercise and hypoglycemia (7 questions), carbohydrate counting and insulin dose calculation (6 questions), blood glucose and ketone monitoring (8 questions), and insulin timing and dosing (4 questions).

Time frame: Baseline and visit 4

Satisfaction With Intensive Diabetes Clinic and Usage of the Continuous Glucose Monitor

Survey of patient and parent satisfaction in the interventions groups only, satisfaction with the overall study including CGM use and psychological intervention. Satisfaction measured on a 7 point Likert scale, with highest satisfaction at a score of 7 and lowest score 1.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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