One of its basic problems "is the potential alteration of the administered insulin by motion, contact with pump surfaces and changes in temperature. Insulin forms aggregated macromolecules that have reduced insulin activity and tend to precipitate in the catheter, causing obstruction. Insulin must be buffered and treated with additives to increase viscosity, thereby improving it physical stability (http://medind.nic.in/ibi/t02/i6/ibit02i6p379.pdf).
The pump has another problem, especially prevalent in the initial models, which is "encapsulation by the dense fibrous tissue of the implant. Early versions were plagued by problems with fluid leakage into the system, short battery life, insulin blockage of the pump or catheter and tissue blockage of the peritoneal catheters and adhesions (http://medind.nic.in/ibi/t02/i6/ibit02i6p379.pdf)."
Risks Involved With Insulin Pumps
While insulin pumps have proven to be beneficial, there are risks involved in this form of therapy. Due to the fact "insulin pumps use the very fast-acting Lispro insulin which only lasts three to four hours after injection, Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening condition caused by lack of insulin, becomes a real possibility if the pump stops delivering the required amount of insulin. DKA could happen if the pump tubing becomes blocked or comes out from under the skin, or if the pump cartridge is allowed to run out of insulin. If the problem isn't discovered for several hours, blood sugars will rapidly rise and ketones will appear in the urine (http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_Membership/DialogueWin00-insulinpump.asp)." An individual can prevent this condition, however, by frequently monitoring their blood glucose throughout the day.
Another risk involved with insulin pumps is skin infections, which can become a serious condition in a diabetic. An infection can occur at the catheter's insertion site since the "pump catheter or tubing stays in place under the skin. This can be prevented in most people by using good technique when changing the catheter, taking care to keep the site clean, and changing the catheter frequently (usually every two to three days) (http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_Membership/DialogueWin00-insulinpump.asp)."
Pump Users
When the pumps were initially introduced, users had to undergo "psychological testing, stay at least one week in a hospital, and be dedicated to monitoring their blood glucose (http://www.nfb.org/vod/vsum0001.htm)."
Today's users find they are unrestricted in what activities they can participate in, due to innovations such as watertight cases for swimming.
Insulin pumps are so light and small that users are able to wear them without the knowledge of others.
Choosing to use the insulin pump is a personal decision and should be fully discussed with one's healthcare provider. After discussing the use and care of the insulin pump, as well as the benefits and risks involved, the patient should then be able to make a truly informed decision.
Research Data clinical trial provided evidence that "insulin pumps are one of the best methods for near-normal insulin delivery. Approximately half of the adults and a quarter of the teens used insulin pumps at some time during the trial, which resulted in patients intensively managed experienced a lowering of glycated hemoglobin levels and a reduction in long-term diabetes complications when compared to those treated with conventional protocols (http://medind.nic.in/ibi/t02/i6/ibit02i6p379.pdf)."
Insulin Pumps and Children
Insulin pumps have proven to be beneficial to diabetic children of all ages and their parents. Parents of preschool children "report less anxiety about their kids who use the devices compared with families dealing with insulin injections.
While control was equally adequate for kids using continuous infusion and for those using injections, those receiving the injections produced significantly more for their parents. A trend towards less parental anxiety was evident for pump users (http://www.medicalpost.com/mpcontent/article.jsp;jsessionid=ABIDHKOKILJF?content=20040607_194326_5696)."
Insulin pumps have been used in children as young as 5 weeks old. While the pumps are effective in controlling blood glucose levels, the concentration of insulin makes it necessary for a health care professional to monitor its dosage frequently (http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/pkids/youngest.shtml).
The daily injections that diabetic toddlers must endure can be practically be eliminated by using the insulin pump. Another benefit is better dosing, since the "small amounts of insulin needed to maintain glucose in the ideal range make the dosage delivered by a pen or syringe too imprecise (http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/faq/askexpert01.shtml)."
While it was initially thought that newly diagnosed diabetics could not deal with the changes in their lifestyles and the pump at the same time, new research is proving this to be false. A study with pediatric patients has found that "all the newly diagnosed patients and families readily learned the pump mechanics, having no more difficulty than patients who had type 1 diabetes for longer periods; all patients achieved excellent metabolic control without significant hypoglycemia, with blood glucose levels in the near-normal range through the first six months; all patients expressed satisfaction with pump therapy (http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/links.shtml)."
Today's Pumps
Today, for type 1 diabetes, "insulin pump therapy remains the optimal approach with the most flexibility, especially with the ultra-fast-acting analogs lispro and aspart (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/488996)."
patient is a 35-year-old (male?), he was diagnosed with diabetes twenty five years ago at the age of ten years old, he claims that this is hereditary in his family. He has one sister who has Type 2 diabetes and a brother who has type 1 diabetes. He manages his diabetes and other illnesses from home and through a medical clinic; for most of his life he has known
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now