ReviewActa diabetologica2025
Needle characteristics and the insulin injection experience in patients with diabetes.
Review in Acta diabetologica, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Development of a Syringe-Based Insulin Applicator Using a Biodesign-Based Methodology.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Patient Expectations in Individualised Anaesthesia and Analgesia: A Narrative Review and Future Directions.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFear of pain during insulin injection, using pen injectors, still represents a barrier to diabetes treatment. The development of smaller and thinner needles has improved comfort during the injection, but the influence of other needle geometry features, has been less thoroughly assessed. The aim of this review, is to evaluate the role that pen needle geometry plays in determining patient experience during insulin injection.
methodsA literature search was conducted in PubMed and Scopus to identify the publications assessing the effect of needle geometry and quality on insertion force and pain, experienced by the patient during injection. 22 studies were included in this review. All studies included, at minimum, an evaluation of the perceived injection pain, using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
resultsThe clinical evidence demonstrated that in addition to the pain reduction experienced with increasing needle gauge, other geometrical features such as shorter needle length, thinner wall design, improved tip geometry and coating with lubricant, are associated with reduced injection pain and improved patient experience. Furthermore, it was indicated that the needle features shown to help reduce the experienced pain, would not negatively affect the frequency and intensity of injection related site reactions or needle-related failures, such as breakage and bending.
conclusionsPen needle geometry affects the insulin injection experience of diabetic patients. Increased needle gauge, shorter length, improved tip design and mechanical characteristics of the needle are all associated with a perceived reduction of the pain during insulin injection and an overall improved patient experience.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40481976What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.