Insulin storage problem

March 6, 2017 7:33 AM

How long can unopened insulin go unrefrigerated?

Note: Not asking about expiration dates, or how long you can keep insulin after taking it out of the fridge and opening it for use. This pertains to good usable unopened insulin during a refrigerator outage.

posted by LonnieK to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Look on the packaging. It should have a statement. Better yet, call your pharmacist. They will have the resources to find out.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 7:46 AM on March 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Probably a quite long time.

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/PDF/se_insulin_stability_chart.pdf
posted by yoyo_nyc at 7:46 AM on March 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

From the FDA's emergency preparedness guide: "Insulin products contained in vials or cartridges supplied by the manufacturers (opened or unopened) may be left unrefrigerated at a temperature between 59°F and 86°F for up to 28 days and continue to work."

Temperature is more critical than time here.
posted by holgate at 8:17 AM on March 6, 2017

At room temperature, insulin gradually breaks down and loses potency. It's not like "after X hours, the vial is completely useless" but the warmer it gets the faster it starts to break down and the shorter the window of time you have to use the insulin. People use insulin pens often don't refrigerate them but it's OK because they're smaller containers and you go through them faster. If you're drawing from a vial, then obviously the larger container needs to last longer so you need to be more careful about keeping it cold.

If you look at this page on insulin storage, the first manufacturer quoted says

Our recommendation is that a single vial may be used repeatedly over a 3 month period, as long as the vial is maintained at the correct storage temperature of 2 to 8 degrees C. If the vial is stored outside the refrigerator [at room temperature] then this period of use should be reduced to 28 days."

There's also a table from NovoNordisk:

This table with permitted temperature and exposure times applies to single exposures only and repeated exposures to higher temperatures will gradually reduce the efficacy of the insulin. It shows permitted temperature and exposure times that will not reduce the efficacy of the insulin, PROVIDED it is then returned to the refrigerator.

Permitted Exposure Times For Various Temperature Ranges
Insulin preparations should not be exposed to temperatures between:
-20 to –10 degees C for more than 15 minutes
-10 to –5 degrees C for more than 30 minutes
-5 to +2 degrees C for more than 2 hours
8 to 15 degrees C for more than 96 hours
15 to 30 degrees C for more than 48 hours
30 to 40 degrees C for more than 6 hours
Insulin should never be stored above 40 degrees C.
It is important that insulin is never frozen, or exposed to a combination of high temperatures and excessive vibration.

posted by yeahlikethat at 8:26 AM on March 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

LonnieK, I'm a pharmacist and can probably help with your question, but I'm not exactly sure what your question is. How long is the insulin out of the refrigerator? At what temperature? Is it going to be refrigerated again?
posted by codex99 at 2:49 PM on March 6, 2017

What kind of insulin is it (Lantus? "regular"? etc), and in what form of storage (pen or vial?)
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:14 PM on March 6, 2017

Response by poster: Clarifying ..
1) Lantus -- insulin glargine pens.
2) My downstairs refrigerator was unplugged for at least 4 days & up to a week. When I discovered it, it was at room temp. Plugged it back in and now it's cool again. The insulin never came out.

Thanks all for the information. It doesn't look too good.
posted by LonnieK at 5:43 AM on March 8, 2017