It will not revolutionize their daily lives but will still simplify their lives a little. On Friday, five young patients suffering from type 1 diabetes, the smallest was 7 years old, the oldest, 16 years old, were summoned to the pediatric department B of the Saint-Etienne University Hospital for a national first: to become familiar with Simplera. A new continuous interstitial blood glucose measurement device, proposed as part of a study conducted by the manufacturer.
Already validated on the regulatory level, this sensor is not yet reimbursed by Health Insurance but should be within a year. A chance for these five young patients regularly monitored by the hospital, who are the first in France to be able to benefit from this small innovation.
Easier installation
With its compact design, this sensor has the advantage of “communicating with the insulin pump,” explains Lucie Bazus, pediatrician at the University Hospital. Made up of a single part instead of two, it is smaller, easier to install, requires fewer updates than the old system and should make it possible to better balance diabetes. »
Like the old model, it needs to be changed every seven days, but “is less painful when placed on the arm” estimates Hugo, 11 years old, the sleeve of his t-shirt rolled up. The boy was diagnosed five years ago “in full confinement”, remembers Emmanuelle, his mother. “I realized while teaching him that he drank a lot and urinated regularly. » She knows a little about the disease, the symptoms, and is not surprised when the results of blood and urine tests requested by the treating doctor come back. “There was no doubt, it was diabetes and not a urinary infection. »
Since then, Hugo has lived with it, and “well”. “The only difficulty is to weigh the carbohydrates every day,” says Emmanuelle. We must plan the quantity of sugars he will ingest each meal to be able to program his insulin dose in advance. We haven’t changed anything about our eating habits. » “It’s just,” Hugo slips, “that I can no longer sneak sweets. » In the coming weeks, he will be contacted and followed like other patients by the pediatric department to ensure that everything is going well.
If there are five of them today experimenting with this sensor, Lucie Bazus hopes to be able to offer it later to other young patients. “Diabetes is a very common disease among children. »
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