The Machine That Makes A Nurses Day Easier
The Infusion Pump has been a machine that has improved nursing efficiency. The function of an infusion pump is to infuse fluids, medication or nutrients into a patient’s body to be circulated into the different organ systems. It is most commonly used intravenously, although subcutaneous, arterial and epidural infusions are used on rare occasions.
Infusion Pumps have allowed nurses to administer more precise doses of medication since they have been invented. Also, they have decreased the number of accidental overdoses in the last few years. An infusion pump can administer doses as small as 0.1 milliliters per hour this dose is too small to drip. Also, they can deliver doses every minute where this would be too time-consuming for nursing staff to stand at the bedside to make sure medication is dosed every minute. Doses that have repeated doses and are requested by the patient can also be programmed into an IV Infusion Pump up to the maximum doses allowed per hour. An example of these patient requested doses would be patient-controlled analgesia or fluid boluses that the dosages vary at different times of the day. These pumps can produce high but controlled pressures, because of this they can inject controlled doses of fluids beneath the skin or epidurally. Epidurally is administered within the surface of the central nervous system and is the method of infusion that is frequently used to control pain during childbirth.
The control panel on the front of the infusion pump asks for details on what is being infused and the dosage being administered by the nurse or technician. The pump can be set for continuous infusion that gives small pulses of medication continuously for an extended amount of time. If a high infusion rate to requested an intermittent infusion is administered that alternates with a low programmed infusion rate to ensure the IV cannula remains open and patent. The times, rate of administration, and dosages are all programmable into the infusion pump for patient safety. This mode is most commonly used to administer antibiotics and other drugs that cause irritation to the blood vessels.
In order to make sure that the patient receives the complete dose of medication when getting intermittent infusion 30cc’s are added to the volume to be infused making the amount 30cc’s more than the medication bag. If the pump is not set up this way about half of the medication could be left in the IV tubing. Patient-controlled infusion or on-demand infusion is programmed with a limit for patient safety to avoid accidental overdose. The rate is controlled by a button or a pressure pad that the patient pushes when they are in need of pain medication. Patient-controlled analgesia is the method of choice where small doses of opioid analgesics are required for pain control. The infusion pump is programmed to where it will stop administering doses before an amount is delivered that could cause respiratory suppression.
Patient-controlled infusion or on-demand infusion is programmed with a limit for patient safety to avoid accidental overdose. The rate is controlled by a button or a pressure pad that the patient pushes when they are in need of pain medication. Patient-controlled analgesia is the method of choice where small doses of opioid analgesics are required for pain control. The infusion pump is programmed to where it will stop administering doses before an amount is delivered that could cause respiratory suppression.
Patient-controlled infusion or on-demand infusion is programmed with a limit for patient safety to avoid accidental overdose. The rate is controlled by a button or a pressure pad that the patient pushes when they are in need of pain medication. Patient-controlled analgesia is the method of choice where small doses of opioid analgesics are required for pain control. The infusion pump is programmed to where it will stop administering doses before an amount is delivered that could cause respiratory suppression.
In conclusion, the invention of these infusion pumps has been a life-saver to nurses in acute care hospitals and all facilities. More information can be found on the internet by performing a simple search.