Errors in insulin dosage were made by more than one-half of 115 patients surveyed in a study of diabetic management in the home.
The study, by a group of investigators at the University of North Carolina, revealed that 67 of these patients (58%) made dosage errors of 2 units or more; the magnitude of error ranged from 5% to more than 100%. Forty of the 67 patients made potentially serious errors of 15% or more.
Among 47 patients taking oral hypoglycemic drugs, 11 made potentially serious errors in medication.
These and other results of the investigation by T. Franklin Williams, MD; D. A. Martin, MD; Julia D. Watkins, RN; Doris E. Roberts, RN; and Virginia C. Coyle, were reported to the annual meeting in Chicago of the American Diabetes Association.
The 162 diabetic patients included in this study were drawn from five clinics and 22 private practices. Of the 115