title: A short easy test can detect ability for autonomous insulin injection by the elderly with diabetes mellitus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Elderly patients with diabetes often have difficulty with self-administering insulin. It was the aim of the present study to find a short, easy performance test, such as the Timed Test of Money Counting (TTMC), that identifies elderly patients with diabetes, in grade to undertake proper insulin injection autonomously and correctly.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 73 insulin-dependent patients (age 77.3 ± 7.1 years, HbA1c 8.2% ± 2.0%) completed the TTMC as part of a comprehensive geriatric assessment before and 3 months after structured diabetes education.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The TTMC showed a sensitivity of 69.2% for autonomous injection of insulin 3 months after diabetes education, if patients performed the test within a time duration of less than 46 seconds. Specificity is 70% and positive predictive value 78.7% in this case. STUDY IMPLICATION: The TTMC seems to be a suitable predictor for ability to inject insulin autonomously after receiving diabetes education. The expenditure of time is only about 5 minutes and it helps to identify patients with diabetes who are able to inject insulin themselves after diabetes education.
authors: Bethesda Hospital, Stuttgart, Germany. Andrej.zeyfang@bethesda-stuttgart.de
authors: Andrej
authors: A
authors: Zeyfang
authors: Susanne
authors: S
authors: Berndt
authors: Gabriele
authors: G
authors: Aurnhammer
authors: Thorsten
authors: T
authors: Nikolaus
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Oster
authors: Anke
authors: A
authors: Bahrmann
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D012648:Self Care; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin