Improvement in glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes with treatment using an interactive mobile application - A pilot study from India.

AIMS: We studied the outcome of glycaemic management using Diahome, a smart-phone application compared to conventional treatment. Overall acceptability of the application among users was also assessed. METHODS: This is a retrospective, case-control study of patients on virtual diabetes care using the Diahome app (n = 441) and those visited the hospital out-patient services (n = 446) between April and June 2021. Men and women aged 45-60 years with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) were selected. RESULTS: A total of 173 records with initial and follow-up visits were analyzed (app users n = 91, non-app users n = 82). Participants were aged 59 ± 12 years and were obese. The two groups were similar by age, gender distribution and duration of T2DM. Fasting blood glucose significantly reduced only among the app-users from a baseline level of 156 ± 70 mg/dl to 129 ± 40 mg/dl at follow-up (p < 0.02). Reduction in HbA1c levels was observed in both groups (p < 0.0001); percentage improvement was better among app (15.8%) than in non-app users (10.4%), p = 0.004. Triglycerides level were higher at both time points among app-users (p < 0.05) as compared to the other group. More than 56% of the users rated the performance of Diahome app as excellent; virtual consultation was rated the highest (71.5%) among the Diahome services. DISCUSSION: Glycaemic management of diabetes using a dedicated mobile application was superior to in-person hospital visits. Its long-term effectiveness and cost savings need to be ascertained.

Concordance in incidence of diabetes among persons with prediabetes detected using either oral glucose tolerance test or glycated haemoglobin.

AIMS: To study the concordance in the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) between cohorts with prediabetes, selected either by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) or glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) at two years in a real world situation. METHODS: Two cohorts with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) were selected from the non-interventional arm of the Indian diabetes prevention programmes; a group selected by using OGTT (Cohort 1, n = 498), another selected based on the HbA1c criterion (Cohort 2, n = 504). Clinical and biochemical data collected for 24 months at 6 monthly intervals were used in assessing the cumulative incidence of T2DM using the respective diagnostic criteria. Intra and inter group comparisons were analysed using appropriate statistical tests. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the variables significantly associated with the incidence of diabetes. RESULTS: Incidence of diabetes in both cohorts were similar at 12 and 24 months with either of the two criteria (25.3% with glucose and 27.5% with HbA1c, p = 0.41 at 24 months). The multivariate analysis confirmed the results. Only baseline waist circumference was positively associated with the incidence. CONCLUSION: Both OGTT and HbA1c have similar utility and validity in identifying persons with IGT. Persons identified with either of the criterion had similar incidence of T2DM among Asian Indians.

Liraglutide-induced acute pancreatitis.

An obese lady of 51 year with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus for 13 years was prescribed Liraglutide, a glucagon like peptide (GLP-1) analogue (Victoza) for glycaemic control and reduction of weight. She was on gliclazide and Insulin prior to initiation of Liraglutide. Eight weeks after initiation of GLP -1 analogue, she developed severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. She was admitted to a private hospital and evaluated. Biochemical tests and CT scan revealed presence of pancreatitis and she was treated for acute pancreatitis. Liraglutide was withdrawn and symptoms subsided. Subsequent follow-up showed that pancreatic enzyme levels were normal.