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Prefilled insulin pens (KwikPen®)
This information is intended for UK registered healthcare professionals only in response to your search for information. For current information for all Lilly products, including Summaries of Product Characteristics, Patient Information Leaflets and Instructions for Use, please visit: www.medicines.org.uk
How can patients check how much insulin remains in a KwikPen?
They should ensure the pen is primed. Hold the pen with the needle pointing up. Note the position of the cartridge plunger relative to the lines on the cartridge and/or cartridge holder to estimate the remaining insulin volume.
How to use the lines on the cartridge and on the cartridge holder to determine the amount of insulin left
The patient should tap the cartridge holder gently to collect any air bubbles at the top. Prime any large air bubbles out of the cartridge before determining the remaining volume. Detailed instructions about priming are described in the instructions for use.1-4
For the lines on the cartridge holder: When the bottom of the cartridge plunger (i.e., the end closest to the needle) is at5
- the top line on the cartridge holder, there is still plenty of the drug product remaining
- the middle line, the pen is getting close to being empty. Patients should begin thinking about getting the next pen ready, and
- at the lowest line, patients should ensure they have their next pen prepared to use.
These lines are supposed to be rough estimates of the remaining insulin volume. Please note, that these lines are not intended to measure insulin remaining in the pen.5
What should patients do when the full dose cannot be dialled?
- The Pen will not let the patient dial more than the number of units left in the Pen.
- If patients need to inject more than the number of units left in the Pen, they may either:
- inject the amount left in the Pen and then use a new Pen to give the rest of the dose,
- or
- get a new Pen and inject the full dose.
- It is normal to see a small amount of insulin left in the Pen that cannot be injected.1-4
Once the pen is empty, patients should not use it again.1-4
Which pens does this information apply to?
This information applies to all of Eli Lilly and Company's pre-filled pens:
- Abasaglar 100 units/mL KwikPen1
- Humalog 100 units/mL KwikPen2
- Humalog Mix25 100 units/mL KwikPen2
- Humalog Mix50 100 units/mL KwikPen2
- Humalog 100 units/mL Junior KwikPen6
- Humalog 200 units/mL KwikPen7
- Humulin I 100 units/mL KwikPen8
- Humulin M3 100 units/mL KwikPen8
- Lyumjev 100 units/mL KwikPen4
- Lyumjev 200 units/mL KwikPen9
- Lyumjev 100 units/mL Junior KwikPen10
For further information about a specific pre-filled pen, please refer to the corresponding user manual, patient leaflet and summary of product characteristics.
References
1Abasaglar 100 units/mL KwikPen [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
2Humalog® 100 units/ml KwikPen® [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
3Humulin 100 IU/ml KwikPen [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
4Lyumjev® 100 units/ml KwikPen® [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
5Data on file, Eli Lilly and Company and/or one of its subsidiaries.
6Humalog® 100 units/ml Junior KwikPen® [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
7Humalog® 200 units/ml KwikPen® [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
8Humulin® 100 IU/ml KwikPen® [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly and Company Limited, United Kingdom.
9Lyumjev® 200 units/ml KwikPen® [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
10Lyumjev® 100 units/ml Junior KwikPen® [instructions for use]. Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., The Netherlands.
Date of Last Review: 16 May 2025