Comparison of Metabolic Responses to the Mixed Meal Tolerance Test Vs the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test after Successful Clinical Islet Transplantation

Following islet transplantation, mixed meal tolerance tests (MMTs) are routinely utilized to assess graft function, but how the 90‐minute MMTT glucose value relates to a 120‐minute glucose concentration of ≥11.1 mmol/L used to diagnose diabetes following a standardized 75 g‐OGTT, is not known. We examined this relationship further. Thirteen subjects with Type 1 diabetes and stable transplant grafts, not on exogenous insulin with HbA1c < 7% (53 mmol/mol), were studied on 17 occasions with paired OGTTs and MMTTs. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to derive the 90‐minute MMTT glucose threshold associated with a 120‐minute glucose concentration following a 75 g‐OGTT (OGTT120) ≥11.1 mmol/L and their diagnostic accuracy. Studies with OGTT120 ≥11.1 mmol/L (n = 5) had diminished C‐peptide: glucose, greater integrated glucose and diminished insulin: glucose area under the curve (AUC) ratios (0‐120 minutes) and disposition indices; all P < .05, contrasting with MMTTs where no difference in the 90‐minute glucose concentrations, C‐peptide:glucose, integrated glucose, C‐peptide and C‐peptide: glucose AUCs (0‐90 minutes) was seen; all P > .05. A 90‐minute MMTT glucose concentration ≥8.0 mmol/L demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of ≥80% for the diagnosis of OGTT120 ≥11.1 mmol/L; area under ROC curve (mean ± SEM) 73 ± 13%. A 90‐minute MMTT glucose ≥8.0 mmol/L, identifies islet transplant recipients who may require closer monitoring for graft dysfunction.