Diabetes Road Test #1: AllStar Pro reusable insulin delivery device

Reveal, review and road test

All three insulin companies have a reusable pen device to administer their insulin. Sanofi-aventis’ AllStar Pro reusable insulin delivery device is the new kid on the block for the administration of Apidra and Lantus insulin. Credentialled Diabetes Educator Jayne Lehmann puts the device through its paces in what will be a regular feature column in future editions of diabetes coalface.

Manufactured by Sanofi-aventis in Germany, the AllStar Pro, which comes in silver and blue, is produced to deliver the sanofi-aventis range of insulin 3mL (300 units) insulin cartridges (U-100). Credentialled Diabetes Educators (CDEs) are provided with these devices by sanofi-aventis free-of-charge.

Taking the device out of the box, I initially liked the look of the AllStar Pro’s case but as I unzipped the case saw the limited storage and was disappointed it would only fit 1 spare cartridge and 4 needles. The basic dark grey was okay but a brighter colour would make it easier to find in the depths of a handbag.

The device is slicker, lighter and generally more attractive than the clunky Clik Star pen, which the AllStar Pro replaces (no longer available in Australia). It’s the lightest of the re-usable cartridge pens available in Australia. While the box said it was a silver version, to me the colour looks more light bronze, which was a nice surprise. The usual features are all there: ergonomic design, clean, magnified dose selector, a scale on the cartridge holder to calculate remaining insulin and dose button.  This pen can deliver up to 80 units of insulin in one dose, a great feature for those requiring larger doses.

Paper instructions fold-out to a wide sheet with a font and images of the pen makes it easy to read and understand.  Information about the safe use of insulin is interspersed within the instructions and reinforce contemporary diabetes education. They were also easy to re-fold so I wasn’t left wrangling a bucking bronco as I have with some other company instructions!

I was surprised to find the Lilly insulin cartridge was just as easy to put into the pen as the Sanofi cartridge. This creates the opportunity for a potential medication error if the wrong insulin cartridge is  inadvertently put into the pen. For example, if a pharmacist dispensed a Lilly insulin cartridge instead of a Sanofi cartridge and it was put into the pen and used the wrong insulin would be injected creating a high risk for unstable blood glucose levels and hypoglycaemia. I also checked the Lilly Savvio reusable cartridge pen and that has the same issue as the Sanofi cartridges also fit into that device. Therefore, extra education will be required for people with diabetes and any nurses or support workers using this device (or the Lilly Savvio device). Reinforce to people starting on this pen or who already have it, they need to carefully check their insulin is correct when it is picked up from the pharmacy and again when inserting it into the cartridge holder of the pen to help prevent inadvertent medication errors.

It also needs to be noted that the pen has a life of three years, after which it should be replaced.

Disclaimer: This is an unsolicited, independent review by South Australian Credentialled Diabetes Educator Jayne Lehmann. Sanofi-aventis neither requested nor provided funding for the writing of this review. The AllStar Pro pen was from Jayne’s company provided stock and all views and opinions are those of Jayne Lehmann.