Home Air occlusion in insulin pumps of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes
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Air occlusion in insulin pumps of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

  • Michelle M. Knoll ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Turaj Vazifedan and Eric Gyuricsko
Published/Copyright: December 9, 2019

Abstract

Background

Insulin pumps are a frequently used technology among youth with type 1 diabetes. Air bubbles within insulin pump tubing are common, preventing insulin delivery and increasing the risk of large glycemic excursions and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). We sought to determine the prevalence of air bubbles in insulin pump tubing and identify factors associated with clinically significant air bubbles.

Methods

Fifty-three subjects were recruited over 65 office visits. The insulin pump tubing was visualized, and any air bubbles were measured by length. The length of air bubbles was then converted to time without insulin at the lowest basal rate. Generalized linear model (GLM) was used to determine the associations between air bubble size and other variables.

Results

Of the 65 encounters, 45 had air bubbles in the tubing. Five (5/65 = 7.7%) encounters had a time without insulin of more than 60 min. Air bubble size was inversely correlated with time since infusion set change (p < 0.001), and directly correlated with age of the subject (p = 0.049).

Conclusions

Significantly more air bubbles were found in the tubing of insulin pumps soon after infusion set change and with older subjects, suggesting a relationship with the technique of filling the insulin cartridge and priming the tubing.


Corresponding author: Michelle M. Knoll, MD, Eastern Virginia Medical School/Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, Department of Pediatrics, Norfolk, VA, USA; and Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, 3101 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111, USA, Phone: +1(816) 960-8977, Fax: +1(816) 302-9904

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Employment or leadership: None declared.

  4. Honorarium: None declared.

  5. Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

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Received: 2019-08-06
Accepted: 2019-10-13
Published Online: 2019-12-09
Published in Print: 2020-02-25

©2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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