An Evaluation of Intravenous Infusion Pumps and Controllers

The accuracy, safety, reliability and cost of use of 35 intravenous infusion pumps and 3 flow controllers were assessed. When infusing saline 11 out of 17 syringe pumps, 3 out of 5 peristaltic pumps, 1 out of 2 roller pumps and all 14 cassette pumps tested were accurate to within 5% over their full ranges of operation. There was no significant change in the performance of any of the pumps tested when saline was infused through a standard resistance, except in the cases of the 3 flow controllers which were unable to infuse at all against the resistance. When 50% dextrose was infused, delivery by two peristaltic pumps was reduced by 23 and 38%. No pump cut out or alarmed at pressures of up to 200 mmHg and 21 pumps continued to infuse against pressures of 750 mmHg or greater. Surges of up to 0.5 ml occurred after release of an outlet obstruction. One device was fitted with a variable high pressure alarm. This device could also measure pressure in the infused vessel and was found to be accurate for measurements of central venous pressure. The cost of consumables for a single use for syringe pumps ranges from A$2 to $5, for peristaltic and roller pumps from A$1 to $10, and for cassette pumps from A$7 to $12, with an additional A$2 for a burette. Accurate delivery of intravenous fluids and drugs is available but is expensive and requires the operator to be specially trained. No simple, cheap, accurate device is yet available.