title: Regional anaesthesia elastomeric pump performance after a single use and subsequent refill: a laboratory study.
abstract: Ambulatory local anaesthetic delivery systems are often limited by a short effective duration of infusion. Prolonging nerve blockade by substituting a new pump as recommended by the manufacturers, represents a substantial consumable item cost ($US 300-500). We therefore evaluated the flow delivery performance of 31 single model elastomeric devices (all with a 2 ml.h(-1) background and 5 ml every hour bolus capability) that had been filled, used in clinical practice and then refilled in the laboratory. For the second infusion, there was a pattern of over-infusion (< 10 ml.h(-1)) in the first hour; however, all pumps depreciated to < 150% of predicted by the second hour. The subsequent performance of all pumps was not only within safe limits, but also predominantly within the range (background infusion +/- 15%, bolus +10/-20%) specified by the manufacturer for primary infusion. We conclude that this elastomeric regional anaesthesia pump design performs satisfactorily after having been refilled following a single previous use.
authors.affiliation: Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK.
authors.forename: C R K
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fredrickson
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000765:Anesthesia, Conduction / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D020724:Elastomers; D004867:Equipment Design; D017743:Equipment Reuse / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007260:Infusion Pumps / Q000592:standards; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D020724:Elastomers