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Insulin Pumps - Juvenile Diabetes
 

Today’s insulin pumps, which also are called continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion therapy or CSII, are about the size of a beeper. The pumps are mostly used by children with type 1 diabetes. 

Insulin pumps deliver a continuous dose of rapid acting insulin (basal rate) to cover insulin needs between meals and at night. A needle guides the insertion of a small cannula into the subcutaneous tissue of the thigh, arm abdomen, or buttocks. The cannula is replaced every two to three days. In addition, based on blood glucose readings, planned food intake or exercise, bolus doses are administered throughout the day.

“The pumps are very sophisticated,” says Belinda P. Childs, ARNP, MN, CDE, BC-ADM, with the American Diabetes Association.

“The parent, child, school nurse, or other trained personnel would enter the number of carbohydrates that were going to be eaten by the child, then the pump, which is programmed for the specific child, would calculate the dose to be given.”

A Website that lists the features of many types of insulin pumps is www.diabetesnet.com.

Students on insulin pumps need ongoing support and education, writes Judy Laver Bierschbach, RN, MSN, c-ANP, who along with two colleagues wrote a 2004 article for The Journal of School Nursing.

Bierschbach recommends developing a written plan that includes when to check blood sugars and begin urine ketone testing, how to treat low and high blood sugars and what the parents would like you to do in these situations. The plan should also include the manufacturer’s customer support phone number.

Article summarised from nurse.com