Phenylbutazone overdosage: abnormal metabolism associated with hepatic and renal damage.

sterilisation there is a risk of infection. Diabetics commonly keep their syringes in spirit although similar practices have been abandoned in hospital, where sterile instruments are now stored dry. It would seem logical for diabetics to store their syringes-glass or plastic-in the same way. Thirty patients reported by Greenough et a13 used a single plastic syringe, stored dry in a domestic refrigerator, for up to two months without infection. Nevertheless, using a new needle, as these patients did, does not eliminate the risk of infection since the syringe nozzle may become infected when an infected needle is removed.4 The ideal solution would be for diabetics to use a new sterilised syringe and needle for each injection. But the bacteriological risk is clearly small and is not the only consideration. It must be balanced against the cost of meeting it.