HumaPen Ergo((R)): A new 3.0ml reusable insulin pen - Evaluation of patient acceptability

Objective: To assess the functionality and patient acceptability of HumaPen Ergo (R), a new 3.0ml reusable insulin pen. Design: Patients trialled HumaPen Ergo (R) (Eli Lilly) over 5 to 7 weeks an d completed a questionnaire at the conclusion of the study. Setting: Eight Diabetes Centres in Australian cities. Participants: 70 insulin-requiring patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes previously using Novopens((R)) 3 (Novo Nordisk A/S) or syringes. Main Outcome Measures: Patient questionnaire regarding level of satisfactio n with HumaPen Ergo((R)) and comparison with previous injection device. Results: Both previous syringe users and previous Novopen((R)) 3 users foun d HumaPen Ergo((R)) easy to use, with > 70% of patients rating all aspects of its use as easy. Patients identified a number of specific advantages of HumaPen Ergo((R)) over syringes or Novopen((R)) 3: ease of holding while in jecting and reading and correcting doses and the procedure for changing car tridges. Device-related adverse events occurred in only 4% of participants. At the end of the study 74% of previous syringe uses and 72% of previous d evice users elected to continue using HumaPen Ergo((R)). 75% of previous sy ringe users and 54% of previous device users expressed a preference for Hum aPen Ergo((R)). Conclusion: The HumaPen Ergo((R)) device is well accepted by patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who require insulin. It has a number of specific advantages over Novopen((R)) 3 or, particularly, syringes.