Extensive clinical experience: a simple guide to basal insulin adjustments for long-distance travel

Long-distance travel across multiple time zones presents unique challenges for patients taking insulin, requiring adjustments in both timing and dosage of basal insulin when several times zones (≥5) are traversed. Travel across the International Date Line adds to the confusion, as existing resources and dosing calculators often do not account for the date change. We review recommendations from available guidelines and dosage calculators used for long-distance travel basal insulin adjustments and then present our patient handouts which allow for a safe, specific, single dose adjustment for eastward and westward travel. The included handouts are easy to use and can be freely reproduced for use in diabetes clinics. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2251-6581-12-59) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.