[Assessment of the usefulness to use a software supervising continuous infusion rates of drugs administered with pumps in ICU and estimation of the frequency of rate of administration errors].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the usefulness and the feasibility to use a software supervising continuous infusion rates of drugs administered with pumps in ICU.


METHODS
Follow-up of practices and inquiry in three intensive care units.


METHODS
Guardrails software(TM) of reassurance of the regulations of the rates of pumps (AsenaGH, Alaris).


METHODS
First, evaluation and quantification of the number of infusion-rates adjustments reaching the maximal superior limit (considered as infusion-rate-errors stopped by the software). Secondly, appreciate the acceptance by staffs to such a system by a blinded questionnaire and a quantification of the number of dataset pumps programs performed with the software.


RESULTS
The number of administrations started with the pumps of the study in the three services (11 beds) during the period of study was 63,069 and 42,694 of them (67.7 %) used the software. The number of potential errors of continuous infusion rates was 11, corresponding to a rate of infusion-rate errors of 26/100,000. KCl and insulin were concerned in two and five cases, respectively. Eighty percent of the nurses estimated that infusion-rate-errors were rare or exceptional but potentially harmful. Indeed, they considered that software supervising the continuous infusion rates of pumps could improve safety.


CONCLUSIONS
The risk of infusion-rate-errors of drugs administered continuously with pump in ICU is rare but potentially harmful. A software that controlled the continuous infusion rates could be useful.
Cayot-Constantin
S
S
Service d'anesthésie-réanimation, Hôtel-Dieu, CHU de Clermont-Ferrand, boulevard L.-Malfreyt, 63058 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Constantin
J-M
JM
Perez
J-P
JP
Chevallier
P
P
Clapson
P
P
Bazin
J-E
JE
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007260:Infusion Pumps; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012984:Software
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations