Why is there dwell time with insulin pens?

[BidingMyTime]

So, I just learned about the need for dwell time with insulin pens. I had never heard of dwell time before. Why is dwell time needed with insulin pens? Is it that the pens are giving a slow injection (like a slow IVP, only subQ?)

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[Pharmacy Kid]

So, I just learned about the need for dwell time with insulin pens. I had never heard of dwell time before. Why is dwell time needed with insulin pens? Is it that the pens are giving a slow injection (like a slow IVP, only subQ?)

Dwell time allows the insulin to fully absorb in the sc tissue. If you pull too early, some will leak out. I've seen it happen when observing new patients' injection technique. The flexpen handout recommends at least 6 seconds.

Epi-pens also have a dwell time.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Is dwell time needed with other SubQ injections (say like vaccines?)

 

[RxPreceptor]

Always assumed this was common sense with SC/IM (non-IV, IVSI, IVPB, etc.) parenterals...general rule of thumb at least 5 seconds (various IM epinephrines 10 seconds); note some package inserts for insulin pens will instruct 6 seconds

 

[BidingMyTime]

Always assumed this was common sense with SC/IM (non-IV, IVSI, IVPB, etc.) parenterals...general rule of thumb at least 5 seconds (various IM epinephrines 10 seconds); note some package inserts for insulin pens will instruct 6 seconds

How is it common sense? Common sense would be that once the plunger is fully down, everything has been pushed in. Until the past 10 years or so, pharmacists never gave injections and weren't taught injection technique in school.

 

[RxPreceptor]

Drug design and delivery class, endocrine course (diabetes), and like everytime going over instructions for how to admin SC drug X...got to be able to communicate to patients how to use a drug properly...I am hoping you got grilled on inhaler technique as well.

Please tell me swabbing site with alcohol before admin is common sense

 

[BidingMyTime]

Drug design and delivery class, endocrine course (diabetes), and like everytime going over instructions for how to admin SC drug X...got to be able to communicate to patients how to use a drug properly...I am hoping you got grilled on inhaler technique as well.
Please tell me swabbing site with alcohol before admin is common sense

I doubt that is common sense either, but swabbing with alcohol was covered in my pharmacy curriculum, tested annually at every hospital I've worked at, and covered in my APHA vaccination certification course.

On the other hand, I never heard anything about dwell time in pharmacy school (but then I'm an old timer.) I also took a diabetes course through NCPA many years ago, and while they talked about subq administration, nothing was mentioned about dwell time. For that matter, dwell time was never mentioned in the APHA vaccination certification course I took either. Maybe this has been added to newer pharmacy curriculum's, because it certainly wasn't in the old ones (and my APHA vaccine course was only a few year ago, and not even that old.)

And of course I know how to use inhalers, inhaler use is/was extensively covered in my pharmacy classes, CE's and pharmacy articles. The first time I've heard about dwell time was in a CE on insulin pens I recently did. I have never seen anything about dwell time in CE's or pharmacy articles before this.