Importance of safely administering insulin
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention(2018), "34.2 million people of all ages had diabetes". Diabetes is defined as a condition where the body does not properly process food for energy. The pancreas which makes the hormone insulin either is deficient in producing insulin or makes none at all. Insulin helps the body to move glucose through the body and into the cells(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). It is crucial that diabetic patients take insulin properly to effectively manage their diabetes. This paper will review insulin administration safety and how insulin administration impacts the care of patients.
There are several steps when safely administering insulin to a patient. The nurse should use The six rights of administration, which include right patient, right medication, right dose, right time, right route, and right documentation. Before the administration of the dose of insulin it is recommended to do a proper glucose test, from the results of this test is how the proper amount of insulin is to be given. Some common errors in insulin administration include inaccurate dosing, improper injection of medication and inaccurate timing of the medication.
Introduction.
Insulin administration is associated with the diabetes condition associated with the blood sugar levels where the pancreases fail to produce insulin completely or fails to produce the right amount. Diabetes is controlled by administering insulin in the patient's body as the patient cannot get a long-lasting treatment. This causes the condition to be a lifelong condition controlled through ongoing medication on the patient and the patient being involved in the self-management through measures that enable them to survive the condition. The diabetes condition is of two types: type diabetes one and type 2; type 1 diabetes is controlled through insulin therapy through the administration of insulin in the patient's body. Type 2 diabetes is given to patients who fail to control insulin introduction, diet, and life modification therapy. The insulin procedure requires safety measures on the administration, timing, dosing according to the condition, lifestyle-based therapy, and medication changes.
Type 1 diabetes is involved in the lifelong ibn therapy associated with the insulin administration done through the self-monitoring of their blood sugar levels. In case the patient calls for long-term management on the condition, trained medical personnel is involved in insulin therapy. The administration of insulin in the type one patient requires the patient to have at least two doses per day according to the dose's strength (Garg, et al., 2017). The insulin is introduced in the body through an injection or through the subcutaneous insulin infusion to restore the insulin kinetic profile physiologically (Bergenstal, et al., 2017). Food ingestion in the patient causes the basal level of insulin secretion as the secretion is at the peak when food is ingested. The recommended dose of insulin should be observed to reduce increased blood sugar levels and the advancement of the condition to type 2 diabetes; thus, the patient should ensure they maintain the self-observation measure.
In the type 2 diabetes patient, the key aspect is to reduce hypoglycemia through the optimum insulin therapy that plays a role in the improvement of glycemic control. This condition can be controlled by administering insulin in the patient's body by first determining the insulin application procedure. In the case of administering the basal insulin, the physician or the patient in the self-management procedures should understand that it requires once daily dosing, unlike other forms of medication that require two (Davies, et al. 2018). The management for diabetes type 2 is thus done by observing the insulin level to maintain the glycemic control and the change in the therapeutic goals reducing the cases of hypoglycemia. The failure of maintaining the glucose blood level is associated with the hypoglycemia that is caused by insulin omission on the patient.
In type 2 diabetes, where the patient fails to maintain glycemic control by administering oral antidiabetic drugs, insulin initiation is made necessary. The proper administration of insulin is known to cause and reduce glucose poisoning, thus improving glycemic control and slowing its effects (Demir, et al. 2021). The patients receiving the basal insulin are associated with the need for additional treatment of the condition through the additional mealtime insulin that can be attained by changing the medication to premixed insulin. The medication's fear is associated with the complex procedure in applying the medication for type 2 diabetes. The basal insulin is known to have both the mealtime and the physiological Insulin response from the later medication but has additional injections, including three to five injections per dose.
The failure in medication with the type 2 patients with diabetes calls for the switch from the insulin administration to the rapid action insulin administered before, the application of two injection doses, or the switch to the premixed insulin. Insulin degludec is a component in insulin administration made up of the rapid-acting insulin and the ultra-insulin in the solution form enabling the drug to enhance glucose control quickly (Glastras, et al. 2020). The drug is associated with the advantages of low injection burden. It is considered flexible in its administration timing. The risks of hypoglycemia are reduced, making the case easy in changing the medication. The medication advantages make the case too good in controlling diabetes as the long effects make the disease control easy and manageable. The treatment using the improve medication reduces the cases of added injection associated with the basal insulin medication.
The following of the dose and medication in the insulin administration is involved in both the patient, through the self-observation procedure where they monitor the level of blood sugar in their body, case, and physician's case. The type 1 diabetes medication is easy, and administration of the insulin easy as it lacks the complex procedures associated with type two insulin administration. To ensure safety in the administration, the patient should ensure they understand the medication and the frequency of administration as different medication takes different patterns in reducing hypoglycemia, especially to type 2 medication. The changing of medication is done after an observation by both the patient and the doctor on the previous medication's failure to provide the effect; thus, diagnosis is done to determine the right medication of the insulin. The lifestyle-based medication also associates the medication on diabetes in reducing blood sugars, especially to the type 1 medication patients.
References
Bergenstal, R. M., Bailey, T. S., Rodbard, D., Ziemen, M., Guo, H., Muehlen-Bartmer, I., & Ahmann, A. J. (2017). Comparison of insulin glargine 300 units/mL and 100 units/mL in adults with type 1 diabetes: continuous glucose monitoring profiles and variability using morning or evening injections. Diabetes Care, 40(4), 554-560.
Davies, M. J., D’Alessio, D. A., Fradkin, J., Kernan, W. N., Mathieu, C., Mingrone, G., ... & Buse, J. B. (2018). Management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes, 2018. A consensus report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Diabetes care, 41(12), 2669-2701.
Demir, T., Turan, S., Unluhizarci, K., Topaloglu, O., Tukek, T., & Gogas Yavuz, D. (2021). Use of Insulin Degludec/Insulin Aspart in the Management of Diabetes Mellitus: Expert Panel Recommendations on Appropriate Practice Patterns. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 12, 77.
Garg, S. K., Henry, R. R., Banks, P., Buse, J. B., Davies, M. J., Fulcher, G. R., ... & Strumph, P. (2017). Effects of sotagliflozin added to insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes. New England Journal of Medicine, 377(24), 2337-2348.
Glastras, S. J., Cohen, N., Dover, T., Kilov, G., MacIsaac, R. J., McGill, M., & Fulcher, G. R. (2020). The clinical role of insulin degludec/insulin aspart in type 2 diabetes: an empirical perspective from experience in Australia. Journal of clinical medicine, 9(4), 1091.
