Abstract
Background: Insulin storage is a challenge in resource-poor countries. In Uganda, patients were noted to store insulin vials by submerging them in water. Objective: To examine whether withdrawing insulin from a vial without adding air back causes a vacuum which allows water to enter the vial, resulting in insulin dilution. Methods: Seven hundred units of insulin were withdrawn from forty 10 mL vials of 100 units/mL insulin [20 neutral protamine hagedorn (NPH), 20 regular]. In half, air was added back. The vials were weighed (baseline). Half of the vials (10 with added air, 10 without) were submerged in water for 24 h and then air-dried for 24 h. Vials that were not submerged sat at room temperature for 48 h. All vials were weighed 48 h from baseline. Results: Addition of air did not impact the change in weight after submersion (air added: −0.002 ± 0.001 g or −0.2 ± 0.1 unit; no air added: −0.003 ± 0.000 g or −0.3 ± 0 unit, p = 0.57). In a subset of vials in which an additional 240 units were withdrawn before submersion for another 24 h, there was still no difference in weight change in those vials with air added (p = 0.2). Conclusion: Withdrawing insulin from a vial without adding air did not result in uptake of water or dilution of insulin in the submerged vial, although it made drawing up the insulin easier. This study did not address the larger concern of bacterial contamination of the rubber stopper during water storage.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 237-240 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Pediatric Diabetes |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 1 2017 |
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Keywords
- insulin dilution
- insulin storage
- submerged insulin
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Cite this
Is insulin diluted when stored in water? / Plager, Phillip; Nurie, Kadiro; Omann, Trevor; Moran, Antoinette; Piloya, Thereza; Bahendeka, Silver; Sunni, Muna.
In: Pediatric Diabetes, Vol. 18, No. 3, 01.05.2017, p. 237-240.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Is insulin diluted when stored in water?
AU - Plager, Phillip
AU - Nurie, Kadiro
AU - Omann, Trevor
AU - Moran, Antoinette
AU - Piloya, Thereza
AU - Bahendeka, Silver
AU - Sunni, Muna
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - Background: Insulin storage is a challenge in resource-poor countries. In Uganda, patients were noted to store insulin vials by submerging them in water. Objective: To examine whether withdrawing insulin from a vial without adding air back causes a vacuum which allows water to enter the vial, resulting in insulin dilution. Methods: Seven hundred units of insulin were withdrawn from forty 10 mL vials of 100 units/mL insulin [20 neutral protamine hagedorn (NPH), 20 regular]. In half, air was added back. The vials were weighed (baseline). Half of the vials (10 with added air, 10 without) were submerged in water for 24 h and then air-dried for 24 h. Vials that were not submerged sat at room temperature for 48 h. All vials were weighed 48 h from baseline. Results: Addition of air did not impact the change in weight after submersion (air added: −0.002 ± 0.001 g or −0.2 ± 0.1 unit; no air added: −0.003 ± 0.000 g or −0.3 ± 0 unit, p = 0.57). In a subset of vials in which an additional 240 units were withdrawn before submersion for another 24 h, there was still no difference in weight change in those vials with air added (p = 0.2). Conclusion: Withdrawing insulin from a vial without adding air did not result in uptake of water or dilution of insulin in the submerged vial, although it made drawing up the insulin easier. This study did not address the larger concern of bacterial contamination of the rubber stopper during water storage.
AB - Background: Insulin storage is a challenge in resource-poor countries. In Uganda, patients were noted to store insulin vials by submerging them in water. Objective: To examine whether withdrawing insulin from a vial without adding air back causes a vacuum which allows water to enter the vial, resulting in insulin dilution. Methods: Seven hundred units of insulin were withdrawn from forty 10 mL vials of 100 units/mL insulin [20 neutral protamine hagedorn (NPH), 20 regular]. In half, air was added back. The vials were weighed (baseline). Half of the vials (10 with added air, 10 without) were submerged in water for 24 h and then air-dried for 24 h. Vials that were not submerged sat at room temperature for 48 h. All vials were weighed 48 h from baseline. Results: Addition of air did not impact the change in weight after submersion (air added: −0.002 ± 0.001 g or −0.2 ± 0.1 unit; no air added: −0.003 ± 0.000 g or −0.3 ± 0 unit, p = 0.57). In a subset of vials in which an additional 240 units were withdrawn before submersion for another 24 h, there was still no difference in weight change in those vials with air added (p = 0.2). Conclusion: Withdrawing insulin from a vial without adding air did not result in uptake of water or dilution of insulin in the submerged vial, although it made drawing up the insulin easier. This study did not address the larger concern of bacterial contamination of the rubber stopper during water storage.
KW - insulin dilution
KW - insulin storage
KW - submerged insulin
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85017535820&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85017535820&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/pedi.12367
DO - 10.1111/pedi.12367
M3 - Article
C2 - 26826013
AN - SCOPUS:85017535820
VL - 18
SP - 237
EP - 240
JO - Pediatric Diabetes
JF - Pediatric Diabetes
SN - 1399-543X
IS - 3
ER -