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Independent study demonstrates the VetPen® advantage for small insulin doses*.
It is well understood that when administering small doses of insulin to diabetic pets that giving the correct dose in a consistent manner is critical. In an independent study undertaken by the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences at the University of Bologna, Italy and published online as an open access article, the accuracy and precision of a range of insulin pens as well as insulin syringes was compared at a range of doses including from 0.5 - 16 IU.
In the most comprehensive study of its type 5 different types of human and animal injector pens used on pets including, VetPen 8 and 16 U pens as well as 0.3 ml 100 IU/ml and 40 IU/ml insulin syringes were included. For each of these administration methods devices, each dose administered was weighed using a precision balance so that the intended and delivered doses could be compared.
Whilst overall most insulin pens had a tendency to underdose, the differences between the intended and delivered doses for VetPen and one other human pen were not significant at doses ranging from 0.5 IU to 8 IU.
In contrast, the two syringes used significantly overdosed at doses of 2 IU or less. The differences between intended and delivered doses in the syringes were non-significant when 4, 8 and 16 Unit doses were given. The study also demonstrated that whilst precision improved for all devices as the dose increased, there also was an overall precision advantage for injector pens compared to syringes when delivering small 0.5 IU doses.
Given that we are greatly dependent on diabetic pet owners to accurately and consistently dose insulin in our patients VetPen offers real advantages in terms of convenience and flexibility as well as helping to reduce the pain of injection to the pet through the improved sharpness and profile of the associated disposable needles.
The results of this recent study further reinforce MSD research in demonstrating that the real practical advantage of VetPen extends to improved accuracy and precision for low dose insulin administration.
If you’d like to offer your clients with diabetic pets with the VetPen advantage, but would value some further support on switching your diabetic patients to VetPen then speak to your account manager or contact our technical product support team on 01908 685685 or at vet-support.uk@msd.com.
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References
*Malerba, E, Fracassi, F, Del Baldo, F, Golinelli, S, Ceccherini, M, Barbaross, A. The accuracy and precision of insulin administration using human and veterinary pen-injectors and syringes for administration of insulin. J Vet Intern Med. 2021;35:1255–1264.
