Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36309953›Full record

ArticleDiabetes, obesity & metabolism2023

Challenging the 50-50 rule for the basal-bolus insulin ratio in patients with type 2 diabetes who maintain stable glycaemic control.

Roy Harper, Eran Bashan, Kevin J Williams, Sajitha Sritharan, Mark Willis, Deanna J Marriott, Israel Hodish

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Diabetes, obesity & metabolism, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Connected Insulin Pens and Pen Caps: Expanding Diabetes Technology Access and Adoption.Diabetes spectrum : a publication of the American Diabetes Association · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Roy HarperDiabetes Centre, Ulster Hospital, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Eran BashanHygieia, Inc., Livonia, Michigan.
Kevin J WilliamsCardiovascular Research Center, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.ORCID 0000-0002-0000-2159
Sajitha SritharanHygieia, Inc., Livonia, Michigan.
Mark WillisHygieia, Inc., Livonia, Michigan.
Deanna J MarriottSchool of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Israel HodishHygieia, Inc., Livonia, Michigan.ORCID 0000-0001-8174-384X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFor patients using basal-bolus insulin therapy, it is widespread clinical practice to aim for a 50-50 ratio between basal and total daily bolus. However, this practice was based on a small study of individuals without diabetes. To assess the rule in real-world practice, we retrospectively analyzed patients on basal-bolus therapy that was adjusted at least weekly by an artificial intelligence-driven titration within the d-Nav® Insulin Management Technology. MATERIALS AND

methodsWe obtained de-identified data from the Diabetes Centre of Ulster Hospital for patients with four inclusion criteria: type 2 Diabetes (T2D), on d-Nav >6 months, on basal-bolus insulin therapy >80% of the time (based on insulin analogs), and no gap in data >3 months.

resultsWe assembled a cohort of 306 patients, followed by the d-Nav service for 3.4 ± 1.8 years (mean ± SD), corresponding to about 180 autonomous insulin dose titrations and about 5000 autonomous individual dose recommendations per patient. After an initial run-in period, mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values in the cohort were maintained close to 7%. Surprisingly, in just over three-quarters of the cohort, the average basal insulin fraction was <50%; in half of the cohort average basal insulin fraction <41.2%; and in one-quarter the basal insulin fraction was <33.6%. Further, the basal insulin fraction did not remain static over time. In half of the patients, the basal insulin fraction varied by ≥1.9×; and, in 25% of the patients, ≥2.5×.

conclusionOur data show that a 50-50 ratio of basal-to-bolus insulin does not generally apply to patients with T2D who successfully maintain stable glycemia. Therefore, the 50-50 ratio should not serve as an ongoing treatment guide. Moreover, our results emphasize the importance of at least weekly insulin titrations.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Artificial IntelligenceBlood GlucoseGlycemic ControlHumansHypoglycemic AgentsInsulinInsulin GlargineRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeBlood GlucoseHypoglycemic AgentsInsulinInsulin Glargineartificial intelligencebasal insulinbolus insulinclinical guidelinesinsulin therapytype 2 diabetes

Identifiers

PMID36309953
PMCPMC10107921

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.