Forwarding an email from Animas

Diabetes Technology Insulin Pumps
1

This was sent to me from Animas the other day and I figured that I’d pass it along…

Important Information about the OneTouch® Ping™ Glucose Management System
and the Animas® 2020 Insulin Pump

Dear Animas Pumper:

Animas is dedicated to supporting pumpers with quality customer service and products. As part of that commitment, we reach out whenever we have urgent information about our products.

We have learned of several cases in which pumpers have accidentally delivered excessive insulin when they ignored pump warnings and did not disconnect from their infusion set before loading the pump cartridge. In each of these cases, the pump had been damaged. Because of this damage, the pump delivered the whole cartridge of insulin during the “load cartridge” step of the priming sequence.

Failure to follow safety instructions and disconnect your infusion set from your body during the “rewind, load and prime” steps can lead to unintended delivery of insulin. This can cause serious injury or death.

This warning is in your Owner’s Booklet or User Guide and was part of your pump training. The pump also warns you to disconnect before these steps (see below). NEVER IGNORE THESE WARNINGS.

There is NO SAFETY RISK from this condition if you ALWAYS disconnect your infusion set from your body when:

rewinding the motor
loading the cartridge
priming the infusion set tubing
tightening the cartridge cap
Please note, this issue does NOT occur during basal and bolus insulin delivery.

How Will I Know if My Pump is Affected?

If you see a pump warning message that says: “No Cartridge Detected. Delivery Disabled” after the “Load Cartridge” step; or
If you see repeated “no prime” warnings (see below) that are not related to an occlusion alarm, auto-off alarm or loose cartridge cap; or

In some cases, you may also notice that the pump’s screen is hard to read or goes blank.
If you notice any of these things, contact Animas Customer Support at 1-866-949-1525 or call the toll free number on the back of the pump. As always, if you need immediate medical attention call your healthcare provider or 911.

What do I do now?

The key things to remember are:

Follow your Owner’s Booklet or User Guide instructions
Pay attention to all pump warnings
NEVER rewind the pump motor, load the insulin cartridge, or prime your infusion set while connected
Should you have any questions or concerns, please call the Animas Customer Support Department. A trained healthcare professional will take your call at 1-866-949-1525 or you can call the toll free number on the back of your pump at 1-877-937-7867. If you are travelling outside of the U.S., please call 610-644-8990 and press option 1.

To be sure that you receive this important information, we have sent a letter to you via the US Postal Service and a separate letter to your healthcare provider to inform them of this issue.

Sincerely,

Animas Corporation
200 Lawrence Dr.
West Chester, PA 19380

2

I actually received this via registered snail mail today here in Canada! I keep on wondering if it’s because of the FDA meeting that took place a few weeks ago that they sent this out. Glad to see that Animas and US both are on the ball for us Animas users! That’s the one thing I have found over Medtronics that is better (used to use MM 522 - but the screen was too small for me to see - I know - I’m picky).

3

Thanks for the info. I believe my 15 year received one of those messages when he did not detach his pump during one of these procedures. I remember the low and figured it out with a minor adjustment but I caution to think of what could have happened if I was not there and he did it at bedtime.
I have not gotten that email however from Animas and now I am wondering why.
Thanks for the heads up

4

I got this letter and email and reviewed what I do. I never disconnect when loading a new cartridge. Rarely do my cartridge changes coincide with my infusion set changes. After getting this letter, I disconnected and did a rewind and then reloaded the cartridge. I watched (intently) the business end of the tubing set when the rewind stopped. It delivered about 1/2drop (1/2 unit?) before the sensor in the pump stopped the rewind. For me, this would be no big deal unless the sensor failed in which case it could delive the whole cartridge. This appears to be the senario they are talking about in the letter. Evidently it rarely happens and then only when there is damage to the pump. I doubt it will change my practice of not disconnecting, but it caused me to think real hard about the directoins for use that came with my pump, and the training I received. I don’t believe the manufacturer can design against user error. That’s why it’s so important for the prescribing doctor to assure his patient can and will comply with all the directions and training they are given.

5

I’m the same way and I’ve never had an issue with this happening on me… Oh, well, I guess I will try to do it this way!

6

The forced cartridge rewind after a battery change is one of my biggest gripes with the Animas Ping. I was suprised by this after using Minimed pumps for years which don’t require this. Doing a full disconnect to replace the battery is a pain.

7

i don’t think I’ve ever noticed that you have to rewind the cartridge when you change the battery… lol Guess I’m not too observant!

8

Why wouldn’t you disconnect on a cartridge change? It only takes a second to detach.

Also, even though there’s still insulin in the tube from before; I reprime the tubing when changing only the cartridge. I do this because attaching a new cartridge to the existing tubing will most likely introduce a bubble into the tubing originating around the area where the new cartridge attaches to the existing tubing. Next time you change just the cartridge, prime the tubing for a second (detached of course:) ) and I almost guarantee there will be a visible bubble.

9

I’ve done cartridge changes in the middle of a busy business meeting with no one being the wiser. Not wanting to waste precious insulin, I wait till the last unit before making a change. I’d have to undress (at least pull my shirt up) to disconnect my tubing from the infusion site, so i rarely do it. Only if the change happens when I’m dressed casual or at home when it’s easy to do. I’m not worried about that bubble that sometimes works it’s way up the tubing. I get a momentary high that my Dexcom picks up and i compensate for. It’s just not that big a deal for me.