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Beware of syringes not calibrated to deliver insulin
By Kate Smallman, accredited diabetes nurse specialist and a committee memberof the New Zealand Society for Study of Diabetes.
Many with diabetes who need insulin will be given a pen device to deliver their
insulin. What happens when the pen does not work, or is lost?
A case has been highlighted where a person with Type 1 diabetes was given a
tuberculin syringe to administer insulin. A serious measurement error, followed
by an overdose of insulin, resulted in death.
Syringes come in several sizes, with a variety of needle lengths and gauges
(thicknesses). Only one type of syringe is calibrated specifically for use with
insulin. If it is necessary to use a syringe for administering insulin, then only the
0.5ml or 1ml insulin syringes should be used.
The use of tuberculin or other types of syringe is strongly discouraged as it is
difficult to gauge accurately the dose being drawn up and serious errors, such as
that described above, can occur.
It is also recommended that when a person with diabetes is given any new
device to deliver their insulin, then that person demonstrates to a health
professional that he or she can draw up insulin doses correctly.
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| Insulin Syringes | Tuberculin Syringes |
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Published on this website on Thu, 04 Nov 2010