A type 1 diabetic patient on insulin lispro with meals has erratic postprandial glucose. The physician educates that rapid-acting insulin analogs should be injected at what time relative to meals for optimal postprandial control?

• A 30 minutes before a meal (like regular insulin)
• B At bedtime regardless of meal timing
• C 1 hour after completing a meal
• D Immediately before or within 15 minutes of starting a meal ✓

Explanation

Rapid-acting analogs (insulin lispro, aspart, glulisine) have an onset of 10-15 minutes and should be given immediately before meals or within 15 minutes of eating. Regular insulin requires a 30-minute pre-meal wait. Using rapid-acting analogs like regular insulin (30 minutes before) risks early hypoglycemia and late postprandial hyperglycemia due to their faster pharmacokinetics.

Reference: Katzung Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, 15th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.