Syringe pumps and start-up time: ensuring safe practice
David Dewar Servicing Supervisor, Department of Medical Physics and Medical Engineering:
Paula Ingram Clinical Skills Co-ordinator:
Dawn Lowe Clinical Manager, Department of Nursing, Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust, Edinburgh
The start-up time is the delay between starting an infusion pump and the delivery of fluid at the set flow rate. Mechanical slack in syringe pumps can lead to start-up delays of an hour or more at low-flow rates. During this period no medication is delivered to the patient. The causes of the start-up time delay, its implications and methods of minimising the delay are explained.
Nursing Standard.
15, 17, 43-45.
doi: 10.7748/ns.15.17.43.s52
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