Continuous infusion pumps at neonatal intensive care units

Introduction: Continuous Infusion pumps (CIP) are frequently used at neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), to administer medications at flow rates lower than I ml/H. Various factors have been shown to alter their performance. No studies have been completed in Chile in this area. Objectives: To describe frequent clinical practices to administer medications through CIP at NICUs in Chile, and suggest recommendations about it. Methods: Four professionals at NICUs in 19 centers were surveyed regarding syringe size, flow rate and precautions. Results: When starting countinuous infusion, 81.9% of surveyed professionals use 50 cc syringes, and 66.7% of them use flow rates under 1 ml/h. Main precautions include elimination of bubbles in the circuit (51.4%), review of conections (38.9%) and precise fit between the syringe and the CIP (36.1%). Conclusions: In surveyed NICUs, low flow rates and 50cc syringes are frequently used to infuse medications. NICU staff must consider factors that affect the performance of CIP, prefer smaller syringes and flow rate over 1 ml/h for continuous infusion of drugs.