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Intravenous pumps (IVPs) deliver IV medications to millions of acute care patients each year and result in many adverse events reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although the use of IVPs has improved overall safety, there are still high rates of error that risk the safety of all patients, especially those of advanced age and those suffering from critical illness. Most of the documented errors are based on clinician reports, although there is reason to believe that errors due to flow rate inaccuracy go undetected and unreported. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to explore literature regarding flow rate accuracy for IVPs used in US acute care medicine. The systematic review was conducted by searching PubMed, CINHAL, and Web of Science. Articles chosen were from any year, written in the English language, and had content pertaining to the use of IVPs and key concepts of interest. Concepts discussed throughout the literature are relevant to the IVPs used for patient care, including outlet pressure, intake pressure, dead volume, and pump setup. This review provides a conceptual overview of what is known about this technology but reveals a gap in knowledge related to actual IVP clinical accuracy., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The author has received research support in the form of supplies from Ivenix and ICU Medical in addition to consulting income from ICU Medical., (Copyright © 2025 Infusion Nurses Society.)

Objective: This study was conducted to advance understanding of intravenous (IV) smart pump medication administration practices using the Baxter Spectrum IQ. The primary objective was to observe adherence with manufacturer required IV smart pump system setup at the point of care during actual clinical use., Methods: The study was conducted in a 285-bed acute care community hospital near Boston, Massachusetts. The study design was observational and noninterventional, and all data were collected by a single observer. Observations included measurement and documentation of adherence with the Baxter Spectrum IQ system setup requirements., Results: A total of 200 primary and secondary IV medication administration observations were included: 101 in critical care and 99 in medical-surgical. Overall adherence was found to be: 6.5% with IV smart pump position relative to the patient (aim 1); 6.5% with required position of the primary infusion bag (aim 2); and 69.5% adherence with required position of the secondary medication infusion bag (aim 3). Additional exploratory data were also collected., Conclusions: These results add to the emerging body of knowledge, which support that adherence to required system setup for head-height dependent IV smart pumps is low and difficult to achieve during actual clinical use. Consideration of alternative human factors-designed technology to replace the current manual setup requirements is needed to improve the process of acute care IV medication administration in this very important area of patient safety., Competing Interests: This study was supported, in part, by ICU Medical, Inc. K.G. has received previous research support from ICU Medical and has performed consulting for Ivenix. R.B. has performed consulting services for Ivenix. The other authors disclose no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Abstract: Secondary infusion by large-volume IV smart pump is used extensively in the acute care setting for one-time or intermittent administration of medications such as antibiotics, electrolyte replacements, and some oncology drugs. Consistent and accurate delivery of secondary medications requires a full understanding of the system and setup requirements. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for nurses to find a secondary medication only partially administered when their programming should have resulted in a complete infusion. This article discusses the technical requirements that every nurse should know when administering secondary medications using an IV smart pump., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The primary purpose of this research was to describe nurse and pharmacist knowledge of setup requirements for intravenous (IV) smart pumps that require head height differentials for accurate fluid flow., Methods: A secondary analysis of anonymous electronic survey data using a database of prerecruited clinicians was conducted. A survey was sent by email to 173 pharmacists and 960 nurses. The response rate for pharmacists was 58% (100 of 173), and the response rate for nurses was 52% (500 of 960). After removing respondents who did not provide direct care and who did not use a head height differential IV infusion system, the final sample for analysis was 186 nurses and 25 pharmacists., Results: Overall, less than one-half of respondents (40%) were aware that manufacturer guidelines for positioning the primary infusion bag relative to the infusion pump were available. Slightly more (49.5%) were aware of the required head height differentials for secondary infusion. Only five respondents selected the correct primary head height, eight respondents selected the correct secondary head height, and one respondent selected both the correct primary and secondary head heights., Conclusion: The results of this study identify a substantial lack of knowledge among frontline clinicians regarding manufacturer recommendations for accurate IV administration of primary and secondary infusions for head height differential infusion systems. Both increased clinician education and innovative technology solutions are needed to improve IV smart pump safety and usability., (© Copyright AAMI 2021. Single user license only. Copying, networking, and distribution prohibited.)

Smartphones have become a ubiquitous part of life, and as a result, many children are engaging with smartphones beginning in infancy. Little is known regarding the thought processes used by parents in deciding when and how to allow their infants to engage with smartphones. Using a sample of twelve parents with infants younger than one year, this qualitative study examines parental smartphone use, their perspectives regarding use by their young children, and what sources informed their decision-making about allowing their infants to use a smartphone. Results found that the smartphone has become such a common part of everyday life that choices to use a smartphone around, and with, infants has become one that is nearly automatic. These research data showed that most parents are largely unaware of guidelines for childhood screen time provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. Given our current knowledge that smartphone use can have a significant impact on the cognitive development of young children, this topic is an important area of future research., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)