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 fl ow rates lower than 1 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, fl ow rate and precautions. Results: When starting countinuous infusion, 81.9% of surveyed professionals use 50 cc syringes, and 66.7% of them use fl ow rates under 1 ml/h. Main precautions include elimination of bubbles in the circuit (51.4%), review of conections (38.9%) and precise fi t between the syringe and the CIP (36.1%). Conclusions: In surveyed NICUs, low fl ow 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 fl ow rate over 1 ml/h for continuous infusion of drugs.

No abstract