Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The two major long-acting somatostatin analogues (SSA) available on the European market for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours and acromegaly are Somatuline Autogel (SA) and Sandostatin LAR (LAR). The aim of this study was to gain nurses’ insights on the use and ease of administration of SSA devices, including Somatuline Autogel new device (SA-ND), in Europe and the US.

Methods/design: Seventy-seven qualified nurses with ≥3 SSA patients/year were interviewed to gather views regarding SSA injection use. Nurses were timed while preparing and performing test injections with SA-ND and LAR. Attributes of SA-ND and current SSA devices were evaluated and an overall preference score (attributes weighted by importance to nurses) calculated for each.

Results: SA-ND scored higher than LAR and SA for nearly all attributes. Mean time for administration was 66 s for SA-ND versus 329 s for LAR. Low clogging risk, prefilled device, safety feature and time to administer were the main perceived advantages of SA-ND. Overall preference score was 63% higher for SA-ND versus LAR (114 vs 70 respectively).

Conclusion: Preference for a new SSA device was high among interviewed nurses. Conceivably, the short administration time, confidence that a full dose is delivered and perceived ease-of-use of the new device compared to existing SSA devices could lead to improvement in clinical practice and a benefit to patients/caregivers when administering SSAs at home.