• Carolina Piras de Oliveira, Beth D Mitchell, Ludi Fan, Colleen Garey, Birong Liao, Jeoffrey Bispham, Nan Vint, Magaly Perez-Nieves, Allyson Hughes, and Alicia McAuliffe-Fogarty.
• Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
• Curr Med Res Opin. 2021 Jan 1; 37 (1): 45-51.

BackgroundHalf-unit pens offer the ability to dose insulin more precisely. Information about half-unit pen use and evidence of their benefits and drawbacks is limited. This study aims to characterize people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who have used (current/former = EVER) vs. those who have never used half-unit pens (NEVER users) and to understand their perspective.MethodsAn observational cross-sectional online survey was administered through T1D Exchange's online patient community, myGlu.org, to understand the use of half-unit insulin pens.ResultsThe 278 adult participants (156 EVER, 122 NEVER) had a mean age of 41.8 ± 12.7 years, body mass index of 26.0 ± 3.8 kg/m2, glycated hemoglobin of 6.3% ± 1.0%, and 55% were male. EVER users had T1D for a shorter duration than NEVER users (p < .001). EVER users were less likely to use continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (p < .001) and more likely to start correcting high blood glucose at a lower level (p < .001) and low blood glucose at a higher level (p < .001). The highest ranked benefits of half-unit pen reported by its current users (N = 131) included prevention of hyperglycemia (40.5%), less anxiety or worry (23.7%), and prevention of hypoglycemia (16.8%).ConclusionsHalf-unit insulin pen is perceived as an insulin device that may help people with T1D to avoid hypo- and hyperglycemic events and decrease their level of disease worry and anxiety. This study highlights the need for patients and health care providers to understand the benefits of half-unit pens while considering options for individualized diabetes management.

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