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Infusion sets
All about infusion sets: what's available, where to put them and how to insert them
Melissa Ford has provided an excellent guide to choosing infusion sets. Her article tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about choosing your set ... what this page does is bring together in one handy page comparable data about the different sets on offer. Also, it is written from a UK perspective, rather than a US perspective.
Most sets are luer-lock ("universal" connector) - Melissa's page explains this in detail: I have noted where a Paradigm version is available.
I have noted where different 'tube lengths' (i.e. distance from the site to the pump) and 'cannula lengths' (i.e. length of tube within the body) are available. If the length isn't right for you - Disetronic also make an extension tube, suitable for any luer pump / luer set.
Some manufacturers claim that their set enables you to see the site (as if there are other sets which have less visibility). I have noted where sets are particularly opaque, but have not looked at all of them in detail (if this is an issue for you, ask for samples).
Apologies for the use of both inches and mm for cannula lengths, and mm and gauge for needle widths - this is how the manufacturers present the information!
Websites/Contacts
These websites give further information and contact details for the manufacturers, brands and distributors of sets.
Accu-chek and Disetronic between them cover the Accu-Chek/Disetronic/Roche range.
Animas products are distributed by Advanced Therapeutics.
Deltec products including the Cleo do not currently (1st December 2006) have a UK distributor.
Minimed products
Unomedical manufacturer of Comfort, Quick-set, Inset, Contact and Basic.
Sets at a Glance
See also www.diabeteshealth.com for details of the sets available in the US.
To save space, I have only included the one name for each set - see 'sets in detail' below to find the various names for sets.
Angle of insertion | Whanger? | Disconnects at: | Tube lengths | Cannula lengths | Visibility | Needle | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic | 30 | no | disconnects at some point | 23, 31 or 43 ins | 14mm | Choose your own adhesion! | 0.41mm (27G) (metal needle set) |
Cleo | 90 | 'withdrawer', integral to set | site | 21 or 34 ins | 9mm and 6mm | White fabric masks visibility | 28g intro needle, 25g cannula |
Comfort | 20 to 45 | only for silhouette | site | 23, 31 or 43 ins | 17mm and 13mm | White fabric masks visibility | 0.68mm (27g) intro needle, ??? cannula |
Contact | 90 | no | few cm from site | 23, 31 or 43 ins | 6mm, 8mm, 10mm | Needle insertion is not visible through the set, and white fabric masks visibility | 0.41mm (27G) (metal needle set) |
Flex-link | 90 | yes | site | 30, 60, 80 and 110 mm | 10mm and 8mm | White fabric masks visibility | ??? intro needle, ??? cannula |
Inset II | 90 | optional built-in whanger, which is more of a 'withdrawer' | site | 23 and 43 ins | 9mm and 6mm | Needle point of insertion slightly visible through set; white fabric masks visibility | 0.68mm (26g) intro needle, 25g cannula |
Quickset | 90 | mandatory | site | 23 and 43 ins | 9mm and 6mm | White fabric masks visibility | 0.68mm (27g) intro needle, (25g) cannula |
Rapid-d | 90 | no | few cm from site | 24 and 43 ins | 6, 8 and 10 mm | White fabric masks visibility | 28g (metal needle set) |
Sof-set | 90 | yes | few cm from site | 61 and 107mm | 9mm and 6mm | Clear adhesion | 27g intro needle, 25g cannula |
Sets in detail
Unomedical Basic / Disetronic Classic / Minimed Polyfin
(Paradigm version available).
- Inserts at 30 degrees. Has to be hand inserted.
- A metal cannula is moulded to the cannula - no glue (can be preferred by those with allergies).
- Available with or without adhesive 'butterfly' - or add your own adhesive tape of choice (again, can be an advantage for those with allergies).
- No choice of lengths.
- Can be detached (I think with a dangly bit - see Sofset and Rapid D, but have not seen one to confirm this).
Deltec Cleo
- Inserts at 90 degrees
- Disconnects at site
- Does not have a 'whanger', but has an integrated needle-withdrawer, which acts as a guide to insertion. The tube is separate, but attached after insertion. The integrated bit is very sturdy, and a nice purple colour.
- Comes in a variety of tube lengths.
- Comes in a standard cannula length (9mm) and a shorter length (6mm) which may be of use to those with less body fat.
- Tube attaches to the site from any angle, not just one.
- Available in the UK from December 2006.
Unomedical (manufacturer) Chronimed Comfort / Medtronic Silhouette / Disetronic Tender / Deltec Essential
(Paradigm version available).
- Inserts at 20 to 45 degrees
- Whanger available (Silhouette only)
- Disconnects at site
- Comes in a variety of tube lengths
- Liked by a lot of users.
- Comfort and Tenders come in standard (17mm) cannula length and a shorter length (13mm) which may be of use to those with less body fat.
- White fabric adhesion: site not visible under it.
Unomedical Contact / Minimed Easyset
- Inserts at 90 degrees
- Manual insertion only.
- Disconnects a few cm away from the site (leaving a dangly bit, disliked by some users, but may be preferred by those with poor eyesight and/or poor manual dexterity).
- Comes in a variety of tube lengths.
- A metal cannula (can be preferred by those with allergies) - comes in 6, 8 and 10mm lengths. Needle is 0.41mm (27G)
- Insertion site not visible through the set.
- White fabric adhesion: site not visible under it.
Disetronic / Accu-check Flex-link ("Ultraflex" in the USA)
- Inserts at 90 degrees
- Optional whanger
- Disconnects at site
- Comes in a variety of tube lengths (apparently the tubing is 'unique' implying that it's unique in that it 'won't kink' - others I've tried have not kinked, either). It is a very clear, shiny tube. It appears to me to be easier to see bubbles in this tube. But on the other hand, it isn't as discreet as the matte tubes.
- White fabric adhesion: site not visible under it.
Unomedical Inset II (Supplied by Animas in the UK from February 2007)
- Inserts at 90 degrees
- Insertion by its integrated whanger (or optionally without).
- Disconnects at site. Comes in a standard cannula length (9mm) and a shorter length (6mm) which may be of use to those with less body fat.
- Only one tube length? It appears to be the 'unique' very clear, shiny tube of the Accu-check flex-link. It appears to me to be easier to see bubbles in this tube. But on the other hand, it isn't as discrete as the matte tubes.
- Comes in various colours of packaging: grey, pink and blue available in the UK
Unomedical/Minimed Quickset
(Paradigm version available).
- Inserts at 90 degrees
- Whanger available (and, indeed, must be used: hand insertion is not recommended)
- Disconnects at site
- Comes in a variety of tube lengths
- Has a needle protector for safe disposal
- Can be difficult to insert properly - must be done standing up: users have experienced high rate of failure due to poor techniques or wrong kind of body.
- White fabric adhesion: site not visible under it.
Disetronic/Accu-check Rapid-D
- Inserts at 90 degrees
- Manual insertion only.
- Disconnects a few cm away from the site (leaving a dangly bit, disliked by some users, but may be preferred by those with poor eyesight and/or poor manual dexterity). Personally, I found the dangly bit, when used as a tape-stop, cut into me in an irritating way (the dangly bit on the sof-set didn't do this).
- A metal cannula (can be preferred by those with allergies) - comes in 6, 8 and 10mm lengths.
- Comes in a variety of tube lengths.
- Manufacturer claims that at 28g, this is the finest needle (but none of the other sets give their size!).
- Insertion site not visible through the set.
- White fabric adhesion: site not visible under it.
- Wins the Pat R prize for the most hard-to-follow instructions. Practice the removal of the tab on a set before you insert it (twist, don't 'snip' as they suggest!)
Minimed Sofset
(Paradigm version available).
- Inserts at 90 degrees
- Whanger available
- Set has only a small adhesive part: additional tape/plastic needed to secure it (can be a help for those with allergies, or those who find some tapes stick better than others - but can be more 'fiddly').
- Semi-transparent adhesion: somewhat visible under it.
- Disconnects a few cm away from the site (leaving a dangly bit, disliked by some users, but may be preferred by those with poor eyesight and/or poor manual dexterity)
- Comes in a variety of tube lengths.
- Comes in a standard cannula length (9mm) and a shorter length (6mm) which may be of use to those with less body fat.
A word about irritation ...
You may be allergic to the components of sets, or their antibacterial agents, or their glues. If you like a particular set, but it irritates, you can use a barrier between your skin and the set: Tegaderm and Opsite are two of the brands/types ... others are available. Medtronic have an excellent set of notes about these called "Tape Tips".
Concluding remarks
There is now a bewildering variety of set types on the market. You may like to know that the most popular with long-term pump users. However it appears to some new users to be a bit scary. So many people prefer to start off with a 90 degree set.
New pumpers should be offered a range of sets to experiment with. You should expect to go home from hospital, having been shown and tried on a block of false-flesh with at least three sets: one oblique, one 90 degree, and one metal. You should be comfortable, from your practice, with using the serter or manual insertion that these sets require or allow. There is nothing morally wrong with using a serter (she says, using one herself). But those who insert manually do argue convincingly that manual insertion is better for your body. It is always possible to move from using a "whanger" to hand insertion at a later date, when you are more confident about sets.
Do not worry, as a new user, about whether you are leaving the hospital with the 'right' set for you. A good hospital will be expecting you to take an interest in your sets, and to work with them to find the type, size, and length that gives you the least amount of irritation, best control, and colour coordinates with your handbag. OK, no team is going to care about your handbag. And a lot of teams are quite happy to send new pumpers home having trained them on only one set (and worse, on just one set that is known to have a lot of failures....). Print out this page, or the websites of some sets that look to you to be the kind of thing you'd like to try.
Copyright © Patricia Reynolds, with the assistance of Tom Faulkner and Andy Armstrong 2006.