Infusion Pumps
Absolute Medical carries a wide selection of stationary and ambulatory external infusion pumps, covering a broad range of clinical settings, from leading manufacturers including Abbott, Alaris, Baxter, Hospira, Medfusion, and Sims Deltec. Programmable infusion pumps precisely control the rate and duration intervals of fluid delivery, and are able to do so in very large or small volumes. Often used to administer critical fluids ranging from pain relievers and nutrients to high risk medications, antibiotics, and chemotherapy drugs, alerts and alarms are triggered if air or another occlusion is detected in the tubing. Smart pumps will even forewarn if there is a risk of an adverse drug interaction, or if the user sets the pump’s parameters to exceed specified safety limits. Fluid administration may be intravenous, intra-arterial, epidural or subcutaneous.
Infusion Pumps Questions & Answers
An infusion pump is a medical device
that delivers fluids, such as nutrients and medications, into a patient’s body
in controlled amounts. Infusion pumps are in widespread use in clinical
settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and in private residences. Infusion
pumps are used to administer critical fluids ranging from pain relievers and
nutrients to high risk medications, antibiotics, and chemotherapy.
In general, an infusion pump is operated by a
trained user, who programs the rate and duration of fluid delivery through a
built-in software interface. Infusion pumps offer significant advantages over
manual administration of fluids, including the ability to deliver fluids in
very small volumes, and the ability to deliver fluids at precisely programmed
rates or automated intervals.
Leading manufacturers, such as Abbott, Baxter, Medfusion, Sims Deltec and Alaris, offer many types of
infusion pumps, including large volume, patient-controlled analgesia (PCA),
elastomeric, syringe, enteral, and insulin pumps. Some are designed mainly for
stationary use at a patient’s bedside. Others, called ambulatory infusion
pumps, are designed to be portable or wearable.
Because infusion pumps are frequently used to
administer critical fluids, including high-risk medications, pump failures can
have significant implications for patient safety. Many infusion pumps are
equipped with safety features, such as alarms or other operator alerts that are
intended to activate in the event of a problem. For example, some pumps are
designed to alert users when air or another blockage is detected in the tubing
that delivers fluid to the patient. Some newer infusion pumps, often called
smart pumps, are designed to alert the user when there is a risk of an adverse
drug interaction, or when the user sets the pump’s parameters outside of
specified safety limits.
Many infusion pumps are controlled by a small
embedded system. They are carefully designed so that no single cause of failure
can harm the patient. For example, most have batteries in case the wall-socket
power fails.
Many pumps include an internal electronic log of the last several thousand therapy events. These are usually tagged with the time and date from the pump's clock. Usually, erasing the log is a feature protected by a security code, specifically to detect staff or patient abuse of the pump.
Infusion pumps should be certified to have no single point of failure. That is, no single cause of failure should cause the pump to silently fail to operate correctly. It should at least stop pumping and make at least an audible error indication. This is a minimum requirement on all human-rated infusion pumps of whatever age. It is not required for veterinary infusion pumps.
Many pumps include an internal electronic log of the last several thousand therapy events. These are usually tagged with the time and date from the pump's clock. Usually, erasing the log is a feature protected by a security code, specifically to detect staff or patient abuse of the pump.
Infusion pumps should be certified to have no single point of failure. That is, no single cause of failure should cause the pump to silently fail to operate correctly. It should at least stop pumping and make at least an audible error indication. This is a minimum requirement on all human-rated infusion pumps of whatever age. It is not required for veterinary infusion pumps.
Infusion pumps can administer fluids in ways
that would be impractically expensive or unreliable if performed manually by
nursing staff. For example, they can administer as little as 0.1 mL per hour
injections (too small for a drip), injections every minute, and so forth.