The “insulin pen”: Comparison with multiple injection treatment with syringe

Abstract

AbstractA new insulin “fountain‐pen” injection device (NovoPenTM) was tested in 10 insulin‐dependent diabetic patients, aged 21–34 years, who had used multiple injection therapy with syringe‐injections for more than one year previously. The patients had strict pre‐study blood glucose control; HbA1 8.8% ± 1.9. They used NovoPen for 6–9 months (mean 8 months). HbA1 increased slightly during pen treatment to 9.3% ± 1.8 (p < 0.01), probably due to insufficient insulin delivery. All but one patient experienced technical problems with the devices. They all wanted to continue using it, because of the simplicity of injections and the increased daily life flexibility. Since the patients have no direct control over the amount of insulin injected, caution is needed when introducing insulin pen injections.