Transportation of a commercial premixed intravenous insulin product through a pneumatic tube system.

Purpose: Delivery of insulin products via pneumatic tubes is often avoided in health systems, as agitation may cause insulin proteins to destabilize, resulting in loss of function through denaturation, aggregation, or other processes. The actual loss of potency due to delivery via pneumatic tubes has not been reported for new, ready-to-use insulin products.

Methods: Samples were drawn from 7 commercial intravenous (IV) bags containing a 100 units/100 mL premixed solution of regular insulin in sodium chloride injection (Myxredlin, Baxter). The bags were then exposed to 7 unique long-distance pneumatic tube routes. The posttransportation bags were visually inspected for evidence of foaming. Samples were drawn from the posttransportation bags and insulin concentrations were analyzed via an enzyme immunoassay and compared to pretransportation concentrations.

Results: All seven posttransportation insulin samples were within 10% of their respective pretransportation sample. No foaming was observed in any of the Myxredlin bags after transportation through the pneumatic tube system.

Conclusion: Transporting 100 unit/100 mL Myxredlin i.v. bags through a pneumatic tube system does not result in a clinically significant loss of potency. Therefore, delivery of this drug product via a pneumatic tube system to patient care areas can be considered in daily practice.