What it means
Pumps are used whenever the rate must be exact, such as for high-alert drugs, children and continuous drips. "Smart" pumps have a drug library with safe dose limits that warn the nurse when a setting is outside the usual range. Special pumps give patient-controlled analgesia, epidural medicine or tube feedings.
For the nurse
Use the drug library, check the drug, dose, rate and line at every handoff, and trace the tubing from the bag to the client. Respond to alarms promptly; do not silence them without finding the cause.
At a glance
| Spanish | bomba de infusión |
|---|---|
| Also written | infusion pumps |
Related terms
IV
Intravenous: into a vein, or the tube placed in a vein to give fluids and drugs.
infusion
The slow delivery of a fluid or drug into the body, usually into a vein, over a period of time.
patient-controlled analgesia
A way of giving pain medicine in which the client presses a button to give themselves a set dose from a programmed pump.
drip
A continuous IV infusion of fluid or a drug, given slowly over time by gravity or a pump.