Comparison Study of Usability for Patients after Changing Pen-type Injection Needles

Abstract

The self-injection of insulin or GLP-1 receptor agonists causes mental distress to patients, and pen-type injectors and their needles are being continually developed and improved to alleviate such distress. In Saiseikai Fukuoka General Hospital, Nanopass^® 34G Needle II 4 mm (T34) , the thinnest needle available on the market, has been used. To examine usability for patients after changing the injector needle from BD Micro-Fine Plus^TM 31G 5 mm (BD31) or Nanopass^® 33G Needle 5 mm (T33) to T34, a questionnaire survey was conducted. Sensitive patients perceived differences when changing their injector needles not only from BD31 to T34, with a difference of 3G, but also from T33 to T34, with a smaller difference of 1G. In both cases, patients' perceptions improved as a result of improvements in factors markedly influencing them: frequency of subcutaneous bleeding, pain when puncturing of the needle, and liquid leakage when removing the needle. The results of this study confirmed the usefulness of thinner and shorter injector needles to alleviate patients' distress, suggesting the necessity of considering their usability of needles during guidance on selfinjection.