Irish diabetics warned about safety recall on faulty insulin pens

Diabetics are being warned that the insulin cartridge holder used in some insulin pens could be faulty.

Manufacturers, Novo Nordisk, has said that batches of the NovoPen Echo and NovoPen 5 insulin pens distributed in Ireland are at risk of breaking or cracking if exposed to chemicals used commonly in cleaning products. They are warning buyers to monitor their blood sugar levels but not to come off any treatment without consulting a doctor. They are also advising that they contact the brand in order to get the items replaced. While the risk of hyperglycemia is extremely low, the damaged pens could mean a patient is not getting the amount of insulin they should.

“Using a device with a cracked/broken cartridge holder can result in the device delivering a smaller dose of insulin than expected, leading to high blood sugar levels,” Novo Nordisk said.

Below is a list of the batch numbers that are being recalled. Patients with NovoPen Echos or NovoPen 5s with batch numbers that are not listed are being told to not worry and that they can be “confident that the pen will work as intended”.