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Contamination rates and costs of four intermittent intravenous infusion systems

1979; Oxford University Press; Volume: 36; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/ajhp/36.11.1497

1535-2900

James Paxinos, Richard J. Hammel, William L. Fritz,

Pharmacy and Medical Practices

Rates of contamination, costs and efficiency of four intermittent intravenous infusion systems (System 1—inline burette; System 2—piggyback with minibag; System 3—tandem piggyback with inline burette; and System 4—piggyback with manufacturer’s drug container) were studied. Solutions for each of the four i.v. infusion sets were prepared by pharmacy technicians or nurses. Nurses hooked up and adjusted flow rates on each of the sets 27 times. Personnel times for initial assembly, dose preparation and flow-rate adjustment were measured by time and motion studies. Contamination rates were determined by culturing the filter unit of each set after four doses of the drug had been infused intermittently through it. Mean total personnel times were lowest for System 4, followed in order by Systems 1,2 and 3. System 1 had the lowest material costs followed in order by Systems 4, 3 and 2. Labor costs accounted for only a small portion of the total costs of each system and did not influence the rank order established by material costs. Only one incident of contamination resulted; this was with System 1. Although System 1 had the lowest total costs, these were only slightly lower than those of System 4 which was mechanically superior. Thus, System 4 is preferred. System 3 is a suitable alternative to System 4 when the dose of drug required is not available in a manufacturer’s container.