An unusual use of personal insulin pump by a patient with type 1 diabetes on a ketogenic diet — a case report

In this case report we present a 28-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes mellitus on a ketogenic diet for 5 months, using a personal insulin pump in an unusual way. The patient was admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetology due to vomiting and diarrhea that had lasted for several days. On a daily basis, she used personal insulin pump for only several hours a day (a 5-hour basal rate of 0.6 units/hour of fast-acting insulin) in order to avoid dawn phenom­enon, without any prandial insulin, and she used continuous glucose monitoring for 24 hours a day for glycemia control. Additionally she was taking 30 units of long acting insulin analog before sleep. The patient was unwilling to change her treatment method and she was discharged from the hospital against medical advice. Due to the increase in popularity of ketogenic diet, there is a need for large studies assessing its safety and efficacy. Moreover, our case draws attention to the fact that patients can use modern technologies, which are developed to improve the glycemic control, in un­conventional ways.