IV Infusion Pumps

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On the market now which pumps has anyone used that is for icu use and does not have alot of glictches to them. Our hospital just purchased terrible pumps by B Braun with Horizon tubing and they are terrible especially in a codeicon4.gif

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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.
On the market now which pumps has anyone used that is for icu use and does not have alot of glictches to them. Our hospital just purchased terrible pumps by B Braun with Horizon tubing and they are terrible especially in a codeicon4.gif

The last place I worked at had Alaris Guardrails Smart Pumps.....with software for critical care drugs and programs built in so as not to allow a nurse to program a drip too high or too low depending on the drug.

Where I am at now, we have 20 yr old Baxter pumps.....some of em don't even have a decimal point and you cant run any rate lower than 1cc/hr with these dinosaur pumps!

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Specializes in Cardiac.

We use the Alaris pumps, and I love them!

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Specializes in CVICU, MICU, CCRN-CSC.
We use the Alaris pumps, and I love them!

We have the Alaris guardrails pumps and after I have gotten used to them (had them about a month) I love them...One of the things I liked the most for a while at least was out CT surgeons didn't know how to use them....Sigh...that did not last long...

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Specializes in Cardiac.

I work at a teaching hospital, so they don't know how to do anything yet. They wouldn't dream of touching my pumps!

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Specializes in PICU, surgical post-op.

We use MedFusion 3500 (that number could be totally off) syringe pumps for pretty much any drips and meds. Only thing that doesn't go on them is IV fluids or drips at night rates for our grown-up sized kids. The pumps have drug libraries built in and are quite easy to use. Only problem we've had with them is that the built-in limits for boluses aren't high enough for some of our sedation for chronic kids (heme-onc'ers etc).

For regular IV fluids, we use the Braun pumps with Horizon tubing ... the ones mentioned by the OP. I find them easy to use and intuitive, and I've never had a problem with them. I'd be really curious to know what glitches you're experiencing so that we can be on the lookout as well!

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Specializes in CVICU, MICU, CCRN-CSC.
We use MedFusion 3500 (that number could be totally off) syringe pumps for pretty much any drips and meds. Only thing that doesn't go on them is IV fluids or drips at night rates for our grown-up sized kids. The pumps have drug libraries built in and are quite easy to use. Only problem we've had with them is that the built-in limits for boluses aren't high enough for some of our sedation for chronic kids (heme-onc'ers etc).

For regular IV fluids, we use the Braun pumps with Horizon tubing ... the ones mentioned by the OP. I find them easy to use and intuitive, and I've never had a problem with them. I'd be really curious to know what glitches you're experiencing so that we can be on the lookout as well!

I just want to tell you that I really admire PICU nurses. It takes a special person to deal with sick children and their parents.

Sorry to hijack the thread!!!

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Specializes in PICU, surgical post-op.
I just want to tell you that I really admire PICU nurses. It takes a special person to deal with sick children and their parents.

Aw shucks. That just warmed my heart. I've been in another country all week, taking care of my grandma after she's had a stroke. I do'nt know anything about grownups, and I realize more than ever how important it is that we all find our niche. I can't wait to get back to my kiddos this weekend!

Now back to your regularly scheduled program ...

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We have Baxter's newish triple pumps. We have the ability to to run six meds without having to hunt down/call for another pump.

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Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.
We have Baxter's newish triple pumps. We have the ability to to run six meds without having to hunt down/call for another pump.

We have those triple pumps too and I really like them. You can program them to run mg/kg, mcg/kg/min, and every other combo you can think of. You can also program it for certain medications (nitro, TPN, etc.) and it will give you warnings when you are trying to program a high dose. All you have to do is pick the way you want it to dose, plug in your info and it does all the calculations for you.

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

We have some baxter triples, I have no idea how new they are nor how I could be running six lines through them, so they may not be all that new. Sometimes we also have the quite old baxter doubles that we borrow from the floor.

I used to work with the Horizon pumps and they have one feature I'd have glady had last week: Dose Mode. It'll calculate your titrations for you if you put in the right info. We keep charts on titrations for fast usage in my unit, only the dopamine chart goes up to 264 pounds and I had a 310 pound patient. It got done but it wasn't pretty.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

We use the Baxter with collegue guardian. It will dose for you. MG/hr, MCG/kg/min, MCG/min, ETC. You can select the drug name from a library. It also warns you of High or Low dose. I really like them. I still have no idea how through a triple pump you can run 6 meds. We can only run 3. Like them a lot.

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