RNSystematic ReviewRevista latino-americana de enfermagem2026

Continuous Insulin Infusion System and self-care in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: scope review.

Raquel Rodrigues da Costa Brilhante, Carla Cristina de Sordi, Paulo Weslen Carneiro Gonçalves and 5 others

PMID 42307350

WHAT IT FOUND

Frequent glucose checks, regular insulin pump boluses, and bolus calculator use were linked to lower HbA1c in type 1 diabetes, but many pump users reported inadequate education and support.

Key findings

01More frequent capillary glucose monitoring, and recording a reading before meals, were associated with lower HbA1c in people with type 1 diabetes using continuous insulin infusion.

02Adolescents who always used their pump bolus calculator had lower HbA1c than those using it less than 50% of the time (7.8 ± 0.2% vs 8.5%, p = 0.015).

03Many continuous insulin infusion users reported inadequate explanations from health professionals (88.1%) and unmet diabetes support needs due to lack of professional training in pump therapy (91.0%).

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs

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What it does not show

This scoping review did not assess methodological quality of included studies or combine effect estimates, so it cannot show how effective any self-care behavior is. The 18 included articles were heterogeneous in design, age group, and country, and some included parents or professionals, so the findings may not apply to every person using a pump. Most glycemic findings are associations from observational or qualitative studies, not randomized tests of interventions. The authors identified limited evidence on self-care in people with type 1 diabetes using pumps, so gaps remain.

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that adding glucose checks, boluses, or calculator use will cause lower HbA1c. This review mapped associations from heterogeneous studies and did not test these behaviors or assess study quality.

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