May 30, 2003
Insulin Pumps
Question from Marietta, Georgia, USA:
Our 12 year old has been on a pump for a year now, and while we have no difficulties with operating the pump and are in general pleased with it, the infusion sites drive us crazy. We seem to experience “site failures” at least one out of every five changes. Either the site seems to clog quickly (in less than two days), the tube gets inserted improperly (e.g., is bent) and fails immediately, or it simply comes out before schedule change-out (every two to three days). Is this unusual?
Our daughter is an athlete, but we see no correlation with sports activities. We are careful to move the site around to avoid scar tissue. Also, we always use a transparent dressing to help make sure the infusion set adheres well. I’d say our technique is okay. In fact, my wife is a nurse, so she is used to catheters and the like.
Answer:
My experience with athletic young people is that they do have insulin pump site problems a few times a month. It sounds like you have experimented with different sites, catheters and taping techniques. I assume you have also tried changing the site every two days instead of every three days also. I wouldn’t describe your frequency as overtly unusual, but definitely frustrating!!
SG
