February 21, 2002
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections
Question from Cambridge, Minnesota, USA:
My 13 year old daughter, who has type 1 diabetes and uses a pen system with the short needles had a break off in her stomach last month, and they cut her open twice to try to find it. They can see it on x-rays and a fluoroscope, but couldn’t find it, so they ended up just leaving it in. She It was only used once, and since she has been doing shots for three years, she knows what she is doing. This incident really concerns me, and my daughter is now scared to death that it will happen again. The manufacturer had to report it to the FDA. Have you ever heard of a needle breaking off? Is this rare?
Answer:
I have seen this happen once, but we were able to see the end and pull it out. I suspect that if the doctors are leaving it in, they feel it won’t cause any harm. However, this does not alleviate your daughter’s and your own fears.
Since this is really a “fluke”, I don’t think it will happen again. I would suggest that you return all needles with the same lot number to the manufacturer for inspection and use only needles with a different lot number. If you (and your daughter) are still fearful, switch to syringes perhaps with an Inject-Ease� so your daughter does not have to insert the needle. for while.
SS
