# 16 Indy students were accidentally given insulin at school

**URL:** https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444
**Category:** D-News
**Created:** [October 2, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444 "2019-10-02T18:31:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 2

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### Author: ![Boerenkool](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/boerenkool/32/6307_2.png) [@Boerenkool](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Boerenkool)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/21 "2019-11-07T21:11:43Z")

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How do these incidents even happen? What pharmacist can’t tell the difference between insulin and a flu shot?

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### Author: ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/22 "2019-11-07T21:15:46Z")

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I mean the vials look so similar. Honestly, why even read the vial before injecting patients. Seems reasonable.  
 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/1/1a68486e2acb9c2770b6b23df9a06a72fd7f2b37.jpeg)

![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/5/547bbacde3cd1c323cc14a038627f87e046b3514.jpeg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Boerenkool](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/boerenkool/32/6307_2.png) [@Boerenkool](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Boerenkool)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/23 "2019-11-07T21:28:24Z")

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Anyone should be able to distinguish the two, but at least this clarifies something. Here (and maybe everywhere in Europe?) the flu shot only comes as a pre-filled syringe, which is impossible to mistake for insulin.

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### Author: ![T1Allison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c77e96/32.png) [@T1Allison](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/T1Allison)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/24 "2019-11-07T21:48:44Z")

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FWIW, a nurse practitioner told me that if it is an on-site visit, and a different nurse packs the travel kit than the one doing the event, the nurse doing the event may never double check the supplies.

At least that’s what I was told related to the Indy TB test incident.

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### Author: ![TravelingOn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/travelingon/32/1583_2.png) [@TravelingOn](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TravelingOn)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/25 "2019-11-07T22:54:29Z")

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That’s insane. INSANE to me.

I have a friend who’s a hospital nurse. She checks her own work/math twice and then has a colleague check her work. Because she doesn’t want to be liable for killing people. Why isn’t that standard practice?

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### Author: ![Katers87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@Katers87](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Katers87)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/26 "2019-11-08T13:59:25Z")

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"Tony D. Sellars, director of communications for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, said his agency will review the facility’s report on the incident “to determine if we need to follow up or if their action was sufficient.”

**’There is no reason to suggest at this point that the facility should have had a reasonable suspicion that this sort of error would occur or be _preventable_ on their part,’ Sellars said.**"

Ridiculous

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Sam](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/sam/32/10595_2.png) [@Sam](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Sam)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/27 "2019-11-12T00:54:28Z")

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> [@T1Allison](#):
>
> Unhelpful speculation on my part here, but I wonder if by the time they injected kid #16 was when kid #1 was starting to feel super off…

My understanding is it was a special needs facility where most of the people weren’t able to communicate so even if they were getting sick it might have taken a lot longer to figure out

Edit—- hard to follow thread on little phoe screen, my comment was to the second incident in Oklahoma

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Sam](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/sam/32/10595_2.png) [@Sam](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Sam)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2019, 6:46am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/28 "2019-11-12T06:46:25Z")

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Every flu shot I have ever seen was delivered from the manufacture in a sealed syringe and did not require drawing it up from a vial

Makes sense you know because every flu shot in the world is exactly the same dose and insulin doses vary widely so they have to be drawn up individually

How the two could possibly be confused is impossible to comprehend to me

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Boerenkool](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/boerenkool/32/6307_2.png) [@Boerenkool](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Boerenkool)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/29 "2019-11-12T15:46:25Z")

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Apparently vials exist as well and with vials there’s a small chance of confusing them, but I’ve no clue what would be the advantage of using a vial instead of pre-filled syringes.

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### Author: ![Thomas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/thomas/32/1719_2.png) [@Thomas](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Thomas)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/16-indy-students-were-accidentally-given-insulin-at-school/8444/30 "2019-11-12T17:11:44Z")

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Interesting read on the topic.

[https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/directions-in-pharmacy/2015/march2015/prefilled-syringe-vaccine-doses-an-emerging-option-in-the-retail-based-clinic-setting](https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/directions-in-pharmacy/2015/march2015/prefilled-syringe-vaccine-doses-an-emerging-option-in-the-retail-based-clinic-setting)

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