Dr. Ahmed Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic condition that causes elevated blood sugar levels. It can affect individuals of all age groups and is short-term or long-term, depending on the type of diabetes. The uncontrolled and long-term condition can affect other organs of the body, i.e., nerves (diabetic neuropathy), kidneys (diabetic nephropathy), eyes (diabetic retinopathy), and feet (diabetic foot).
Various drugs are also employed in healthcare systems to manage the severity and risk factors of diabetes mellitus. However, recent debates are going on regarding the administration routes for maximum bioavailability with the provision of minimal dosage. Patient comfort, drug dosage, and insulin administration play significant roles in diabetes management. Insulin pens and syringes are the different tools practiced to induce insulin into the body to control serum sugar levels effectively.
Here, we will see whether an insulin pen or syringe is a better and more effective method of treating high blood glucose levels.
Route of Administration
The delivery route has a crucial role in the bioavailability and therapeutic attributes of insulin. Syringes and insulin pens both inject insulin subcutaneously, although they have diverse conveniences, forms, and methods. Patient choice, comfort, and affordability also influence the appropriate route of administration.
Insulin Pens
Insulin pens are modern devices devised for efficient insulin administration with limited wastage using subcutaneous route. The portable and easiest convenience of insulin pens put individuals to choose them not only for their home practices but also even for their workplaces.
Novo Nordisk introduced the NovoPen, the first insulin pen, in 1985 and the NovoPen 2 in 1988. The three main constituents including insulin cartridge, a disposable short needle, and an incremental dosage aid in insulin infusion that modulate serum glucose stability.
Insulin Syringes
Insulin was traditionally injected through the utilization of syringes that have a unit fixed barrel, a plunger, and a needle. Syringes are relatively cheaper than insulin pens and their dosage can also be measured accurately with syringes.
A BD-designed U-500 specialized insulin syringe was approved by the FDA in 2016 to alleviate dosage mistakes while giving doses from a U-100 insulin syringe with a U-500 vial. Syringes are of varying size i.e. 30-units (0.3 ml), 50 units (0.5 ml), and 100 units (1 ml) depending on the concentration of insulin delivery.
The needle length also has significant role as it decides how much penetration will be safe and effective that did not cause any deleterious effect for patients. Generally, the needle of syringes ranges in size from 4 mm to 12.7 mm, however during insulin administration, the needle is kept small so that it passes through fat layer without affecting muscles.
Which one is more effective?
The capacity of insulin delivery methods to guarantee appropriate absorption, constant dosage, and user compliance determines how effective they are. Although insulin pens and syringes work well, the ways in which their characteristics affect patient outcomes differ.
Dosage errors may arise with manual insulin measurement, especially for those with impaired eyesight or dexterity. Injection adherence may be impacted by the discomfort caused by longer needles, which are frequently used with syringes.
A study was conducted to evaluate the convenience, safety, and effectiveness of insulin pen and syringes among type 2 diabetics of Bangladesh. The results revealed that insulin pen have more effectiveness in delivering insulin and managing blood glucose levels as compared to insulin syringes [Ref].
Limitations – Insulin Pen vs Insulin Syringe
Insulin Pen
Significant worries have been raised about the drawbacks including the inability to administer a combination of insulins, increased expense, and the absence of comprehensive insurance coverage. Despite being simpler to use, pens have more complicated mechanics as compared to insulin syringes. The affordability is a challenge for diabetic patients especially who have limited source of income.
Insulin Syringes
Despite all of the aforementioned developments, the majority of patients still had trouble administering insulin repeatedly a day. Additionally, using syringes was linked to issues with conveyance, adverse psychological effects, a lengthy training time, and poor dosage accuracy. These detrimental effects made it more difficult to achieve glycemic control and resulted in nonadherence and reduced intervention resilience.
Dosage– Insulin Pen vs Insulin Syringe
Insulin Pen
The maximum dose of insulin delivered through an insulin pen is 70 U.
Insulin Syringes
Insulin delivery through syringes ranges from 30 units to 100 units.
Pros and Cons
| Injection Type | Pros | Cons |
| Insulin Pen | Children and newly diagnosed diabetics, utilize insulin pens as their first choice as it is less intimidating than syringes | Insulin pens are quite expensive and their needle attachment and safety is difficult as compared to syringes. |
| Insulin Syringe | Insulin syringes are cost effective and widely available | Syringes result in demonstrating complex challenges associated with vision and mental deterioration for the individuals. They also bring out social stigma due to their resemblance with illegal drug exploitation. |
Conclusion
With their own benefits and drawbacks, insulin pens & syringes are both useful instruments for managing diabetes. Insulin pens are perfect for those with busy lives or those who are new to treatment with insulin since they are convenient, simple to use, and enhance patient adherence.
For individuals with particular therapeutic needs, syringes, on the other hand, provide unparalleled versatility in dose customization and compatibility with different kinds of insulin.
Ultimately, personal preferences, medical advice, and considerations, including cost, dose needs, and usability, will determine whether to use an insulin pen or a syringe. Regardless of the administration route used, training patients on correct injection procedures and device management is crucial to improving treatment results.
