What is the point of a buretrol,

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Jun 20, 2008

If I make a mistake with entering a rate or volume into the pump (easier to do than you might think, although I've been lucky), the patient only gets bolused with as much fluid as I've allowed into the Buretrol before the alarm sounds.

bill4745, RN · Jun 20, 2008

They are primarily used in Peds to limit boluses.

wooh, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2008

Because it's fun to clear the air out of the line when you add time to the pump but don't add fluid to the buretrol.

Like they said above. But the personal reason that I always like to pull the buretrol tubing at my job because it's got 2 ports below the pump and the non-buretrol tubing only has 1 port below the pump.:)

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2008

Buretrols were used before pumps to limit the amt of fluid a child could get by accident.

*ac* · Jun 20, 2008

Because it's fun to clear the air out of the line when you add time to the pump but don't add fluid to the buretrol.
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Yeah, that's exactly why I was asking "why"?

*ac* · Jun 20, 2008

Buretrols were used before pumps to limit the amt of fluid a child could get by accident.

But they are currently being used WITH pumps.

*ac* · Jun 20, 2008

If I make a mistake with entering a rate or volume into the pump (easier to do than you might think, although I've been lucky), the patient only gets bolused with as much fluid as I've allowed into the Buretrol before the alarm sounds.

And the alarm sounds because you have air in the line?

ukstudent · Jun 20, 2008

In the adult SICU that I work in we use buretols for the addition of meds. See the following examples.

If you have an excessively bleeding fresh heart and need to give protamine sulfate, which we give in 50 ml's over 10 minutes, you can just program the pump. This frees you up to do the hundred other things that need to be done with a possible crashing fresh heart.

We also use it to add electrolytes to the maintenance fluids.

In the past we also mixed our own antibiotics, they went into the buretols as well.

MikeyJ, RN · Jun 21, 2008

There is another thread started in the Ped's forum because the hospital I work at has actually done away with buretrols.

Like others have said, they are used to prevent the patient from getting too much of a IV fluid if the pump fails or is set wrong. However, that being said -- I have only seen a few nurses on my floor who actually use them for their intended purpose. With a buretrol, you are supposed to put the correct amount of fluid in the buretrol and then clamp off the bag... but nurses on my floor just leave the clamp open.

We also use our to run antibiotics and other meds that come in syringes that need to be run through an IV.

allnurses Guide · Jun 21, 2008

There is another thread started in the Ped's forum because the hospital I work at has actually done away with buretrols.
Like others have said, they are used to prevent the patient from getting too much of a IV fluid if the pump fails or is set wrong. However, that being said -- I have only seen a few nurses on my floor who actually use them for their intended purpose. With a buretrol, you are supposed to put the correct amount of fluid in the buretrol and then clamp off the bag... but nurses on my floor just leave the clamp open.
We also use our to run antibiotics and other meds that come in syringes that need to be run through an IV.

Yeah, nurses on my floor do that too, especially at night so as not to wake the child or parent up when the machine beeps because the buretrol is empty.

BookwormRN · Jun 21, 2008

We use the Buretrol on our Peds patients under 1 year of age. We only put an hour's worth of fluid in it at a time. That way, we have to physically walk into the room and check on that baby every hour--I also assess their IV site at that time. AND, the babe won't get a huge bolus of fluid.

I work Med/Surg, so in addition to this babe, I may have a fresh surgical, blood running, etc....the beeping IV pump is a nice way to make sure I have plenty of time to check on the wee one.