THERAPY

Insulin pen gains acceptance An insulin pen which is simple and pain-free on

injection improves compliance, metabolic control and quality of life, and is well-accepted by diabetic patients.

Efficacy, safety and acceptance of the new pen were investigated in an open German study involving 20262 in- and outpatients over 18 days and 32 days, respectively. All but 3.5% of the participating inpatients and 9.2% of the outpatients preferred to continue using this pen. The difference between the acceptance rate among inpatients vs outpatients may be due to the lower age of the inpatient group.

Positive assessments of the technical handling of the pen decreased in patients uver 50 year~ of age. There is a large potential for application errors in elderly patients, therefore the higher dose accuracy of insulin pens and ease of handling could contribute to improved metabolic control in these patients. The authors did recommend that the pens for elderly insulin-dependent patients be technically simplified.

Mild hypoglycaemic events increased early on in the study, yet the incidence of these returned to baseline levels at study end - acceptance was not affected.

Rosak C. Burkard G, Hoffmann JA. Humburg E. Look D. et aJ. Metabolic effect and acceptance of an insulin pen treatment in 20.262 diabetic patients. Diabetes

Nutriuon and Metabolism 6: 139-145, Jun 1993 ."0'"''

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INPHARMA"18 Dec 1993