Do Insulin Pumps Dispense Unwanted or Incorrect Insulin Doses During a Flight?

Abstract

Safety aspects play a major role in air travel, including the safety of passengers with chronic illnesses. Due to atmospheric pressure changes inside passenger aircraft during flight, the question arises as to whether the therapeutically important delivery accuracy of insulin pumps is affected. An in vitro study simulated the pressure conditions during a flight in a pressure chamber. Pressure changes cause air bubbles to form in the insulin reservoir in the pump, displacing insulin, which would lead to additional insulin delivery. However, such in vitro experiments do not answer the question of whether they adequately reflect the in vivo situation. This article aims to examine the physical and physiological aspects of insulin delivery from insulin pumps under real-life conditions during flight.