Aim: To conduct a systematic review of studies assessing adaptive insulin bolus calculators for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Methods: Electronic databases (Medline, Embase and Web of Science) were systematically searched from date of inception to 13 October 2022 for single-arm or randomized controlled studies assessing adaptive bolus calculators only, in children or adults with T1D on multiple daily injections or insulin pumps with glycaemic outcomes reported. The Clinicaltrials.gov registry was searched for recently completed studies evaluating decision support in T1D. The quality of extracted studies was assessed using the Standard Quality Assessment criteria and the Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment tool.
Results: Six studies were identified. Extracted data were synthesized in a descriptive review because of heterogeneity. All the studies were small feasibility studies or were not suitably powered, and all were deemed to be at a high risk of performance and detection bias because they were unblinded. Overall, these studies did not show a significant glycaemic improvement. Two studies showed a reduction in postprandial time below range or an incremental change in blood glucose concentration; however, these were in controlled environments over a short duration.
Conclusions: There are limited clinical trials evaluating adaptive bolus calculators. Although results from small trials or in-silico data are promising, further studies are required to support personalized and adaptive management of T1D.
Keywords: HbA1c; adaptive bolus calculators; hypoglycaemia; time in range; type 1 diabetes.
© 2023 The Authors. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.