[Modern insulin injection aids in type II diabetic patients]

In 33 type II diabetics, the effects of switching over to the use of modern insulin-injection devices ("injection pens"), on metabolism, the reasons for switch-over and acceptance of the devices by the patient, were investigated. The switch-over to an "insulin pen" was due to a considerable impairment of vision in ten cases, restrictions in the use of the hands in four cases, and a marked fear of conventional injection techniques in 14 cases. Thirty-two of the 33 patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the injection devices. In 22 patients the mean HbA1c values decreased from 8.2 +/- 0.9% to 6.8 +/- 1.0% (p less than 0.01, Wilcoxon test, matched pair signed rank test) after 9.1 +/- 3.6 months.