
April 12, 2003
Insulin Pumps
Question from Irvine, California, USA:
There’s an article on the Internet about a kid who pitches with a pump. The article mentions that the insulin is absorbed through the skin via a patch. Is this an alternate method of insulin delivery? I’m only familiar with catheter infusion sets.
Answer:
There have been many attempts to find a way of giving insulin other than by injection. So far only inhaled insulin shows much promise. To date, there is no way that it can be absorbed from a skin patch.
I am sure that the device you read about was just a normal subcutaneous insulin pump infusion set.
DOB
[Editor’s comment: The article unfortunately was ambiguous about the “patch”. We have contacted the author of the article, who has clarified that indeed there is a catheter infusion set going though the skin, as might be expected.
WWQ]