Abstract
In the treatment of diabetic patients (suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as from other types of diabetes) drugswhich must be administered via parenteral way are frequently used. These drugs are applied subcutaneously.
To this group notonly insulin belongs. GLP-1 analogues and glucagon (e.g. an emergency medication for hypoglycaemic coma) are given subcutaneouslyas well.
The administration of these drugs must be precise, gentle, simple and safe to prevent the risk of infection.Application devices used to deliver these drugs must fulfil these criteria but esthetical viewpoint should be taken into account aswell. These devices are disposable or not (e.g. can be used repeatedly).
In this article, current status regarding needles and syringesused by diabetic patients as well as regarding insulin (or other application) pens and insulin pump is discussed. The analysis ofdevices intended for daily diabetic patients' life enhancement is accompanied by the historical overview of their development.