Roche inaugurates National Infusion Site Awareness Week to promote diabetis management

Roche Diabetes Care, makers of the ACCU-CHEK portfolio of diabetes management products and services, is pleased to announce the inaugural National Infusion Site Awareness Week, Aug. 30-Sept. 5. Roche made the announcement during the 37th annual American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) conference to highlight the important role that certified diabetes educators and other health care professionals play in promoting better site management for the 400,000 people in the United States with Type 1 diabetes who use an insulin pump.

For people with diabetes, the infusion site is where an insulin pump's plastic cannula or steel needle is placed under the user's skin to administer insulin. Infusion site management is the practice of choosing a site, cleaning and preparing it, properly inserting a cannula or needle, monitoring insulin flow and then regularly rotating the insertion site to avoid infection. In most cases, this site must be changed every one-three days and the same site must not be reused for about two weeks or until the site has fully healed.

Roche is creating the week to increase understanding and education about proper infusion site management – and complications that can result from poor site management such as infection, poor insulin delivery and tissue or skin damage. A 2007 study in the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care reported that some adult patients experience as many as 12 issues of irritation or infection a year because of poor site maintenance. The authors concluded that "efforts to minimize the risk of irritation, scarring, and infection should include strict adherence to proper infusion site preparation, catheter insertion, and site rotation."

"Roche Diabetes Care is sponsoring the first National Infusion Site Awareness Week to raise awareness of the unique challenges faced by users of insulin infusion pumps," said Luc Vierstraete, senior vice president and general manager, Roche Diabetes Care North America. "Proper infusion site management ensures better blood glucose management as well as fewer complications. This correlation between site management and better health outcomes is why increased education is critical to foster better diabetes management."

To help increase education, Roche is distributing National Infusion Site Awareness Week kits to certified diabetes educators throughout the United States. These kits include an educational DVD explaining proper site maintenance, press promotional materials, fact sheets to help facilitate discussions and collateral such as buttons, temporary tattoos and a logo. Diabetes educators can receive the kits by signing up for one at Roche's booth (3137) during the AADE conference. Information can also be found at www.infusionsitemanagement.com.  

"Proper infusion site management is a key component of successful diabetes management," said Stuart Bootle, MB ChB, an international expert about diabetes management. "As a person with Type 1 diabetes who has worn an insulin pump for more than 12 years, I know firsthand the benefits and challenges of wearing a pump. The education and awareness generated by the inaugural National Infusion Site Awareness Week will help people with diabetes to develop life-long practices that ensure better health outcomes with fewer complications."