Pen needle use patterns in an insured population with diabetes: U.S. retrospective claims analysis.

Background: People with diabetes who inject insulin with pen devices may reuse the pen needles (PNs), a practice that can cause PN tip deformity, breakage, and contamination, and that is associated with lipohypertrophy and injection-related pain.

Objective: This retrospective study aimed to estimate the extent of PN reuse among people with diabetes in 2 insured populations in the United States.

Methods: Using claims data for Commercial Fully Insured (CFI) and Medicare Advantage (MA) populations from 1-Oct-2018 to 31-Dec-2022, we identified adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes (T1D/T2D) who had ≥ 1 claim for PNs and ≥ 2 claims for insulin from 1-Jan-2019 to 31-Dec-2021, with continuous medical/pharmacy eligibility for 3 months before first claim and 1 year after (follow-up).