Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May;19(3):666-672.
doi: 10.1177/19322968231206155. Epub 2023 Oct 17.

First International Survey on Diabetes Providers' Assessment of Skin Reactions in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes Using Technological Devices

Stefano Passanisi  1 , Anna Korsgaard Berg  2 , Agata Chobot  3 , Tiago Jeronimo Dos Santos  4 , Claudia Anita Piona  5 , Laurel Messer  6 , Fortunato Lombardo  1 ; ISPAD Jenious Group
Affiliations

First International Survey on Diabetes Providers' Assessment of Skin Reactions in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes Using Technological Devices

Stefano Passanisi et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2025 May.

Abstract

Background: Advances in diabetes technological devices led to optimization of diabetes care; however, long-lasting skin exposure to devices may be accompanied by an increasing occurrence of cutaneous reactions.

Methods: We used an open-link web-based survey to evaluate diabetes-care providers' viewpoint on prevalence, management practices, and knowledge related to skin reactions with the use of diabetes technological devices. A post hoc analysis was applied to investigate differences in the level of awareness on this topic in relation to the experience in diabetes technology.

Results: One hundred twenty-five responses from 39 different countries were collected. Most respondents (69%) routinely examine patients' skin at each visit. All the preventive measures are not clear and, mainly, homogenously put into clinical practice. Contact dermatitis was the most frequently reported cutaneous complication due to diabetes devices, and its most common provocative causes are not yet fully known by diabetes-care providers. Almost half of the respondents (42%) had discussed the presence of harmful allergens contained in adhesives with device manufacturers. There is general agreement on the need to strengthen knowledge on dermatological complications.

Conclusions: Although diabetes-care providers are quite aware of the chance to develop skin reactions in people with diabetes using technological devices, there are still some unmet needs. Large follow-up studies and further dissemination tools are awaited to address the gaps revealed by our survey.

Keywords: allergens; complications; contact dermatitis; management; physicians; skin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Anna Korsgaard Berg has received project grants from Medtronic and received speaking honoraria from Rubin Medical and Convatec. Laurel Messer has received speaking/consulting honoraria from Tandem Diabetes, Dexcom, Inc., Capillary Biomedical, and Lilly. Her institution receives research/project grants from Medtronic, Tandem Diabetes, Beta Bionics, Dexcom, Abbott, and Insulet Corp. As of 2023, Laurel Messer is also an employee of Tandem Diabetes Care. No conflict of interest exists for the other authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Approach of diabetes-care providers to the most common recommendations on device placement and skin protection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Phillip M, Nimri R, Bergenstal RM, et al.. Consensus recommendations for the use of automated insulin delivery technologies in clinical practice. Endocr Rev. 2023;44(2):254-280. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heinemann L, Kamann S. Adhesives used for diabetes medical devices: a neglected risk with serious consequences? J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2016;10(6):1211-1215. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lombardo F, Passanisi S, Tinti D, Messina MF, Salzano G, Rabbone I. High frequency of dermatological complications in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: a web-based survey. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2021;15:1377-1381. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asarani NAM, Reynolds AN, Boucher SE, de Bock M, Wheeler BJ. Cutaneous complications with continuous or flash glucose monitoring use: systematic review of trials and observational studies. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2020;14(2):328-337. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Berg AK, Olsen BS, Thyssen JP, et al.. High frequencies of dermatological complications in children using insulin pumps or sensors. Pediatr Diabetes. 2018;19(4):733-740. - PubMed