Insulin

Insulin

1. Routes

   • Subcutaneous injection
   • Intravenous (only in certain circumstances and not all types of insulin can be administered intravenously)

2. Side effects

   • Weight gain
     • Monitor patient's weight at least weekly
   • Pain at the injection site
     • Monitor the site and rotate the injection site
   • Lipohypertrophy
     • Monitor for lumps / scar tissue at the injection site and rotate the injection site to avoid lipohypertrophy

3. Adverse effects

   • Hypoglycaemia
     • Monitor for signs and symptoms of hypoglycaemia and escalate any concerns to the RN & Doctor. DRSABCD Treat hypoglycaemia
   • Arrhythmias
     • Monitor heart rate (HR) manually and report concerns
   • Hypokalaemia
     • Monitor for signs of hypokalemia such as muscle cramps, weakness and arrhythmias. Escalate concerns to the RN & Doctor. DRSABCD Treat hypokalaemia

4. Insulin enables cells throughout the body to take in glucose from the bloodstream and use it as energy. This helps to maintain good blood glucose levels (BGLs). Insulin also inhibits hepatic (liver) output of glucose.

5. Nursing Considerations

   • Withhold if the patient is having a hypoglycaemic episode
   • Rotate the injection site
   • Check patient's BGL within 30 minutes prior to meal and administer insulin within 15 minutes prior to meal
   • Withhold insulin if the patient is NBM