Misadventures in insulin therapy: are you at risk?
About dollar 1 out of every dollar 7 spent on health care is related to diabetes mellitus, a leading cause of blindness and kidney failure and a strong risk factor for heart disease. Prevalence of the disease has increased by a third among adults in general in the last decade, but intensive therapy has been shown to delay the onset and slow the progression of diabetes-related complications. While insulin therapy remains key in the management of type 1 diabetes, many patients with type 2, or insulin-resistant, diabetes encounter insulin administration errors that compromise the quality of insulin delivery. Insulin errors are a major, but modifiable, barrier to dosing accuracy and optimal diabetes control for many patients. Future trends to combat the problem include increased use of insulin inhalers and smaller doses of rapid- or short-acting insulin to supplement longer-acting injections.
Grissinger
Matthew
M
The GMR Group, 1301 Virginia Dr., Suite 301, Fort Washington, PA 19034, USA.
Lease
Michael
M
D000328:Adult; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D007328:Insulin / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards; D012307:Risk Factors; D012648:Self Care / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods
D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin