Introduction. Sound knowledge and good practice on insulin injection technique are essential for nurses in order to administer\ninsulin correctly and to educate patients or their relatives adequately. This study aimed to assess the insulin injection practice\nthrough the use of insulin pen among nurses working in a tertiary healthcare center of Nepal. Materials and Methods. A crosssectional\ndescriptive study was conducted among 67 nursesworking in one of the tertiary healthcare centers ofNepal.Demographic\ninformation and insulin injection practice of nurses through the use of insulin pen were assessed using self-administered\nquestionnaire. Each correct practice was scored â??1â? and incorrect practice was scored â??0.â? Results. The median (IQR) insulin\ninjection practice score of nurses was 11 (9-12) out of 16. Thirty-seven (55.2%) nurses store insulin pen filled with insulin cartridge\nat room temperature while 57 (85.1%) nurses store unopened cartridge at refrigerator (2-8.. C). The practice of hand washing and\ninjection site cleaning was mentioned by 92.5% and 82.1% of the nurses, respectively. However, just over half of the nurses mix the\npremix (cloudy) insulin and prime insulin pen before each injection. Thirty-four (50.7%) nurses do not lift skin during injection\nand more than half of the nurses keep needle beneath the skin for less than 5 seconds after completely injecting the required dose\nof insulin. One out of ten nurses massage injection site after injecting insulin. Most of the nurses (86.6%) use single needle more\nthan once and the median (IQR) frequency of needle reuse was 6 (3-12). Similarly, systematic site rotation was performed by 59\n(88.1%) nurses and twenty (29.9%) nurses claimthat they use single insulin pen for two different cartridges. Conclusion. The insulin\ninjection practice of nurses assessed through the use of insulin pen was suboptimal and highlights the need for urgent educational\nintervention.
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