The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an alert to healthcare professionals, reminding them to remind their patients that single-patient insulin pens and insulin cartridges should not be used to administer medication to multiple patients due to the potential risk of transmitting blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis.
Insulin pens are pen-shaped injector devices that contain a disposable needle and either an insulin reservoir or an insulin cartridge. The devices typically contain enough insulin for a patient to self-administer several doses of insulin before the reservoir or cartridge is empty. All insulin pens are approved only for single-patient use (one device for only one patient).
The FDA is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and professional organizations to address infection-control issues related to insulin pens.
—Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Health Connection, April 2014
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