FDA Patient Reminder: Insulin Pens and Cartridges Must Not Be Shared
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a statement reminding patients and health care providers that insulin pens and insulin cartridges are designed for use by one person only and should not be shared, as this increases the risk of transmitting blood-borne pathogens, such as HIV and hepatitis viruses.
Although the needles on the insulin pens are disposable, it is impossible to sterilize or clean the entire pen to remove all potentially disease-causing bacteria and viruses. The insulin pens also typically contain enough insulin for patients to use several times before the device is empty, but individuals should never share the insulin pen with someone else as this could spread disease, the FDA warned.
This warning stems from incidents at two undisclosed hospitals involving more than 2,000 people in which the cartridge components of insulin pens were used to administer insulin to multiple patients. (Fortunately, the disposable needles were reportedly changed between patients.)
For more information, visit the FDA’s Web site.
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