Pump battery assessment: cold, old, or dead!

Intraspinal drug delivery systems are becoming increasingly utilized for the management of patients with pain or spasticity. Numerous potential complications associated with the use of this technology have previously been described in the literature. We have had experience with a new complication of the internal alarm being triggered by the instillation of cold solution into the pump resevoir. This new finding could have implications for patients with respect to unnecessary reevaluations of the pump, or possible premature scheduling of pump replacement surgery.