Diabetes In Control. A free weekly diabetes newsletter for Medical Professionals. News and information for Medical Professionals.
Letter from the Editor
There has been a lot of press about intermittent fasting, and sooner or later many of your patients with diabetes will want to try it for themselves. One of the attractive features for our patients is the ease of use. No special formulas, no special diets; patients simply have to pick how many hours a day or days a week they are not going to consume any food and get started. Our intern Amber Satz, PharmD Candidate, LECOM School of Pharmacy, has looked at recent studies and found some very interesting information on how intermittent fasting works and why patients are successful.
Our publisher, Steve Freed, reminded me that we have been reporting on this method of weight loss and glucose control for the last 3 years, and he has decided to re-share the video series that Dr. Mark Mattson, Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at The National Institute on Aging, did for us back in 2016.
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We can make a difference!
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Dave Joffe
Editor-in-chief
BEWARE: SAFETY BRIEF FROM ISMP (INSTITUTE FOR SAFE MEDICINE PRACTICE)
Insulin and tranexamic acid mix-up
A hospital reported two serious medication errors due to look-alike 100 mL bags of insulin and tranexamic acid that had been compounded in the pharmacy and stored in a refrigerator. The first error occurred when a pharmacy technician retrieved a 100 units/100 mL bag of insulin from the pharmacy refrigerator instead of the tranexamic acid that was also stored there. The bag of insulin was delivered to the operating room (OR) where barcode scanning is not utilized. A 1 g dose of intravenous (IV) tranexamic acid was to be given over 15 minutes, but the insulin was administered in error. Staff in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) recognized the error, discontinued the insulin, and monitored the patient’s blood glucose level. Dextrose IV was administered, and the patient suffered no permanent harm.
A similar error happened when an anesthesiologist hung an insulin bag instead of tranexamic acid, both of which were stored in the OR automated dispensing cabinet. The error was caught after the entire insulin bag had been infused. Again, the patient was monitored once the error was noticed, IV dextrose supplementation was administered, and no significant harm occurred.
Two factors stand out as contributing to the above cases. Both medications were in 100 mL bags, and both had similar looking white labels with small text that was difficult to read. The information that stands out on the pharmacy label is the route of administration and the name of the pharmacy. No barcode was available on the pharmacy label; however, had the bags been scanned at the time of dispensing, at least one of these errors would have been prevented. Unfortunately, most hospitals have yet to deploy barcode scanning in the OR, which is critical for preventing these types of errors in this setting. For more information on how to prevent this type of error go to www.ismp.org
To report medication or vaccine errors to ISMP:
- Visit www.ismp.org/MERP to report a medication error
- Visit www.ismp.org/VERP to report a vaccine error
- Call 1-800-FAIL-SAF(E)
TOP STORIES — Diabetes News and Research
There’s growing popularity of the “fad” ketogenic diet for patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes, but is it backed by evidence?
How is it that meal timing, regardless of calorie intake, can promote weight loss?
A higher intake of polyunsaturated fats is associated with reduced mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Did You Know: Diabetes Educators Have a New Name
“Diabetes care education specialists” is the new name the American Association of Diabetes Educators unveiled for members. The new designation is designed to better reflect the role of educators as “the cornerstone of the diabetes care team,” Karen Kemmis, PT, DPT, RN, MS, GCS, CDE, CEEAA, FAADE, president of AADE, said during the opening presentation at AADE 2019. “Diabetes education does not comprehensively capture what we do. In fact, within the health-care environment, it sells us short and misrepresents what we have to offer systems, people with diabetes, providers and the entire care team. We know that our services are underutilized, and there are so many reasons for this, but our name is one part of it. The AADE board worked with a professional research firm and conducted numerous surveys to identify a title that would describe a true collaborative and holistic process and position diabetes educators as leaders in the diabetes care team. The new name better reflects members’ expertise; diabetes care specialists must be prepared to address all cardiometabolic comorbidities and complications and technology for patients and providers, and working to incorporate a focus on behavioral health.”
Diabetes in Control gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the following pharmacy doctoral candidates in the preparation of this week’s newsletters:
Marian Ayad, BPharm, PharmD candidate, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Kassey James, Pharm.D.Candidate, LECOM School of Pharmacy
Emma Kammerer, PharmD Candidate, Class of 2020, L|E|C|O|M Bradenton School of Pharmacy
Amber Satz, PharmD Candidate, LECOM School of Pharmacy
Your Friends in Diabetes Care
Steve and Dave
Diabetes In Control
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