Glucose Control Through a Bihormonal Artificial Pancreas in Patients After Total Pancreatectomy

In recent years total pancreatectomy is increasingly performed in selected patients due to the increasing use of preoperative chemotherapy, making more patients operable. After total pancreatectomy, all patients develop insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Glucose control in these patients is challenging due to the complete absence of both pancreatic insulin and glucagon secretion, and most patients report decreased quality of life due to fear of hypoglycemic events and the need for continuous glucose monitoring. The CE marked bihormonal artificial pancreas (BIHAP) provides continuous fully automatic glucose monitoring and administration of insulin and glucagon using a self-learning algorithm. In a recent pilot study (APPEL5+, NL.8871) the BIHAP was being compared to current diabetes treatment in 10 patients after total pancreatectomy. This trial demonstrated that treatment with BIHAP was safe and improved time spent in euglycemia significantly during one week treatment (78.30%, \[IQR 71.05%-82.61%\] vs. 57.38% \[IQR 52.38%-81.35%\], p=0.03). Now, larger randomized studies with a longer treatment period are necessary to confirm safety and efficacy of BIHAP for the treatment of diabetes in patients after total pancreatectomy, with sufficient attention for long-term glycemic control (HbA1c) and patient-reported outcomes. The PANORAMA trial will evaluate the efficacy of a 3-month treatment with BIHAP in 40 patients after total pancreatectomy as compared to a 3-month treatment period with current diabetes care in a randomized cross-over trial. Patients will be randomized to start with the BIHAP (after a training period) or current diabetes care (i.e. insulin pen or pump). Hereafter, all patients will cross over.