Scary news about insulin pumps

[JAT1]

You may find this article from CBC (Canada's mainstream news) about pumps interesting.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/implant-files-insulin-pumps-1.4915491

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @JAT1, I agree. I had heard of the recalls to do with Medtronic and the court cases.
But one would think that if a medical device is approved by any country's Health Services they should have the where-withal to investigate malfunctions just as they have facilities to investigate side-effects or deaths due to medication.

 

[tim2000s]

I'm not sure the recalls were the crux of the story though @kitedoc. The bigger point was that incorrect education and use of insulin pumps results in people doing stupid things due to an expectation that the pump will do the right things, when in reality it's just another (very flexible) insulin dosing device.

 

[kitedoc]

Thank you @tim2000s, I guess I was remembering son=me of the cases. Of course I agree that improper use of insulin pumps contributes to the tragedies but if you are asleep and something malfunctions with out any alarms going off?
One possible problem I found was with a pump using a replaceable battery. If the battery contact fails, there are no alarms and no more pumping. Admittedly the company says to replace battery cap contact every 6 months.

 

[Juicyj]

As a Medtronic user myself I don't find this particularly worrying, considering insulin pumps are the most widely used medical device in relation to the others.

Our NHS is pretty robust with pump training and in most cases new users are given a week trialing saline solution first to confirm knowledge is good enough to manage the pump still then afterwards DSNs keep a close eye on users to check ratios when they need adjusting afterwards.

Also they are not handed out without users having completed DAFNE and having demonstrated that they understand insulin dosing and carb counting well first.

 

[Engineer88]

As a Medtronic user myself I don't find this particularly worrying, considering insulin pumps are the most widely used medical device in relation to the others.

Our NHS is pretty robust with pump training and in most cases new users are given a week trialing saline solution first to confirm knowledge is good enough to manage the pump still then afterwards DSNs keep a close eye on users to check ratios when they need adjusting afterwards.

Also they are not handed out without users having completed DAFNE and having demonstrated that they understand insulin dosing and carb counting well first.

I partly agree, very few people I know were given saline trials though?

 

[tim2000s]

One possible problem I found was with a pump using a replaceable battery. If the battery contact fails, there are no alarms and no more pumping. Admittedly the company says to replace battery cap contact every 6 months.

Maybe my diabetes works differently from that of others, but although I've ended up fairly high from loss of the pump overnight, it's never been more than 16 mmol/l, which is manageable.

I partly agree, very few people I know were given saline trials though?

Our pump clinic pump start usually does a 7 day run with saline then brings you back in to flip to insulin. Unless you kick up a fuss and say no, whereby they make you leave the hospital with a pump loaded with saline and you do whatever you like afterwards!

 

[Engineer88]

Maybe my diabetes works differently from that of others, but although I've ended up fairly high from loss of the pump overnight, it's never been more than 16 mmol/l, which is manageable.


Our pump clinic pump start usually does a 7 day run with saline then brings you back in to flip to insulin. Unless you kick up a fuss and say no, whereby they make you leave the hospital with a pump loaded with saline and you do whatever you like afterwards!

My pump clinic just thought I was a pain sent me away with insulin and refused to answer the phone when I had questions lol

 

[porl69]

Reading the story it seems to me that she didn't really look after her diabetes well? Or did I read it wrong? Bot what I want to know is how she became a pump trainer for Medtronic??

 

[Juicyj]

Unfortunately I cannot vouch for each CCG, however on the whole they're not handed out freely and there has to be a thorough review of each case before one is given out, my own CCG does a monthly review of cases and I was rejected on the first hearing before being accepted on the second.

I too could not understand why this lady became a pump trainer for Medtronic, then it's a different country, different story, terribly sad all the same and distressing for her family, but judging from what I read she was poorly controlled and drank alcohol, which is a bad combination when trying to make insulin calculations, but without knowing the real story it's easy to make assumptions.