title: Healthcare professional and patient perceptions of a new prefilled insulin pen versus vial and syringe.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Usability of a new prefilled insulin pen, FlexTouch® (FT; Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark), with no push-button extension and low injection force, was compared with vial and syringe (V&S).
  
  
  METHODS
  People with diabetes, and healthcare professionals with diabetes management experience conducted test injections and answered questions on preference, ease of use, confidence, ease of learning and teaching.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study involved 30 needle-naïve patients (naïve to any diabetes injection therapy), 30 V&S-experienced patients, 30 physicians and 30 nurses. In the total population, FT was preferred to V&S for teaching or learning to use (both p < 0.001). Nurses (100 vs. 0%) and physicians (87 vs. 7%) preferred FT to V&S for ease of teaching. V&S-experienced (73 vs. 7%) and needle-naïve patients (83 vs. 7%) preferred FT to V&S for ease of learning. The remainder chose "equally easy/difficult." More participants in each group rated FT "very/fairly easy" for ease of depressing the push-button/plunger (FT vs. V&S: physicians, 93 vs. 80%; nurses, 97 vs. 80%; V&S-experienced patients, 93 vs. 90%; needle-naïve patients, 100 vs. 77%), and injecting three doses. More participants were "very/rather confident" in managing daily injections using FT (FT vs. V&S: physicians, 100 vs. 60%; nurses, 100 vs. 70%; V&S-experienced patients, 93 vs. 90%; needle-naïve patients, 90 vs. 40%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FT was rated easier to use, learn to use or teach to use than V&S by patients with or without experience of insulin injection with V&S, and by physicians and nurses with diabetes management experience.
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Centers of America, Health Center At Plano, 1708 Coit Road Suite 100, Plano, TX 75075, USA. rlajara@diabetesamerica.com
authors.forename: Rosemarie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lajara
authors.forename: German
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guerrero
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thurman
mesh_terms: D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007267:Injections / Q000295:instrumentation; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009726:Nurses; D057240:Patient Preference; D010820:Physicians; D012646:Self Administration / Q000295:instrumentation; D013594:Syringes
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin