M A R C H 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 1
• Check the drip chamber. After setting up an infusion, look at the
drip chamber beneath the medication reservoir to see if the infusion
rate matches what you think you've programmed. This can help iden-
tify gross programming errors and uncontrolled flow of medication to
the patient, known as "IV free flow" — which can lead to patient
harm and even death. If you haven't done this in a while, consider
running a pump at 10, 100, and 1,000 mL/hour to get a sense for what
these flow rates look like.
• Use the manual roller clamp. Every time you remove the set
from the pump, use the manual roller clamp on the IV tubing to close
off the set. This prevents flow in the rare event that the set-based
free-flow protection is defeated or doesn't properly engage.
• Inspect the pump for damage. Before starting an infusion, exam-
ine the pump. If you see cracks in the housing, or if a door isn't seat-
ing properly, or if it takes more force than usual to close a door, the
pump may not operate properly. Use a different pump and send the
broken one for repair.
Erin Sparnon, MEng
ECRI Institute
Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
esparnon@ecri.org
