Insulin pen for administration of isophane insulin

Abstract

This study was made in order to evaluate the acceptability and convenience of using the NovoPenTM with NPH‐insulin (Protaphane HMTM) and to investigate whether NPH‐insulin was properly suspended when used in the NovoPen. Forty patients with insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus, all on multiple injection therapy, were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups starting with either the NovoPen or conventional syringes for their injections of NPH‐insulin as basal insulin. No differences were found between the groups in HbA1c, blood glucose profiles, total insulin dosage or number of hypoglycaemic events. When the NovoPen with NPH‐insulin was used total soluble insulin doses were significantly higher (31.3 vs 29.9 U/day, p = 0.02) as was the pre‐breakfast dose (11.1 vs 10.6 U/day, p = 0.04). Out of 40 patients 39 were confident of achieving dose accuracy, 39 found it easy to resuspend NPH‐insulin in PenfillTM (insulin cartridge for the NovoPen) and 38 chose to continue using the NovoPen for basal insulin when the study was finished. The conclusion is that the NovoPen is a safe, convenient and acceptable device for administering NPH‐insulin. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.