Disasters Averted

Recently I visited a patient for a diabetes education consult. The patient was on glargine and lispro sliding scale insulin. As I explained about sliding scale insulin, he said that during a previous admission to the hospital, he was given a prescription to take home for glargine insulin BID and …

Recently I saw a patient in his 70’s, with type 2 diabetes who had been on insulin for over 6 months. Family history revealed a son with type 1. The patient had been sent for diabetes education from a clinic where he was seen for dizziness and “just not feeling …

A patient of mine with type 2 diabetes had recently started on Lantus. I asked her about her injection sites and how they were feeling. She stated that her arms were sore and she was experiencing pain while injecting. I asked her to show me her injection sites so I …

A new patient, a young man recently diagnosed with diabetes, was aware of the problems associated with alcohol and hypoglycemia but liked to go out with friends on the weekend.  I stressed the need for a medical ID bracelet and after a couple of visits he did purchase one. It …

From our partners at ISMP: An IV insulin bag was hung when replacing the patient’s Versed® (midazolam) bag. Two bags of insulin were then hanging, one at rate of 8 (Versed rate) and one at 5 (insulin rate). A [mid-afternoon] accucheck showed that the [blood glucose] level decreased to 36. …

A new patient who had been using insulin pens for two years came in for a consult because his blood sugars continued to go up even though his doctor kept increasing the dose of insulin. He was on a very large amount of insulin. Our endocrinologist thought he was on …

I was following-up with an insulin pump patient in the hospital. I had been told he did not have his infusion set and supplies with him, so I brought a set with me. Once I arrived at the room, however, the patient informed me that his family had brought in …

Problem: More than 3 million Americans will rely on services provided by long-term care (LTC) facilities at some point during 2013, and more than 1.4 million will live in the nearly 16,000 LTC facilities on any given day.1 About one-third of these residents will take an average of nine medications …

Calluses protect the body because, without that layer of thickened skin, pressure or friction could cause an open wound. However, in patients with peripheral neuropathy and diabetes, calluses may be covering up a much deeper wound or ulceration.

Patients with diabetes using the MiniMed Paradigm insulin pump from Medtronic should be aware of the potential for a dosing error if insulin or another fluid contacts the inside of a tubing connector, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in a MedWatch safety alert. Insulin from the pump unit …