Insulin

Types

Type Onset of action (h) Peak action Effective duration Max duration
RAPID ACTING

Lispro

(humalog)

0.25-0.5
0.5-1.25 3-4 4-6

Aspart

(novolog)

0.25-0.5
0.5-1.25 3-4 4-6

Glulisine

(apidra)

0.25-0.5 0.25-1.25
3-4 4-6
SHORT ACTING
Regular 0.5-1 2-3 3-6 6-8
INTERMEDIATE ACTING
NPH 2-4 6-10 10-16 14-18
LONG ACTING

glargine

(Lantus)

3-4 8-16 18-20 20-24

detemir

(Levemir)

3-4 6-8 14 ~20
Insulin.jpg

Common Anti-hyperglycemic Drugs and Pharmacology

Drug Pharmacology
Onset Peak Duration
Rapid-acting insulin

  • Aspart (Novolog)
  • Lispro (Humalog)
15-30min 1-2h 3-5h
Short-acting insulin

  • Regular
30-60min 2-4h 6-10h
Intermediate-acting insulin

  • NPH (Humulin, Novolin)
1-3h 4-12h 18-24h
Long-acting insulin

  • Glargine (Lantus)
2-4h None 24h
Sulfonylurea

  • Glimepiride
  • Glipizide (Glucotrol)
  • Glyburide (Glycron, Micronase)
2-6h 12-24h

See also GLP-1 agonists

Insulin Sliding Scale

  • Dosing depends on the patient's level of insulin resistance.
  • The example sliding scales are for regular insulin with blood glucose (BG) measured in mg/dL

Low Dose (Renal Insufficiency)

  • BG 150-199: 1 unit bolus Insulin
  • BG 200-249: 2 units bolus Insulin
  • BG 250-299: 3 units bolus Insulin
  • BG 300-349: 4 units bolus Insulin
  • BG Over 350: 5 units bolus Insulin

Medium Dose (Standard)

  • BG 150-199: 1 unit bolus Insulin
  • BG 200-249: 3 units bolus Insulin
  • BG 250-299: 5 units bolus Insulin
  • BG 300-349: 7 units bolus Insulin
  • BG Over 350: 8 units bolus Insulin

High Dose (Severely Insulin Resistant)

  • BG 150-199: 2 unit bolus Insulin
  • BG 200-249: 4 units bolus Insulin
  • BG 250-299: 7 units bolus Insulin
  • BG 300-349: 10 units bolus Insulin
  • BG Over 350: 12 units bolus Insulin

See Also