IV Pumps

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Our hospital is in the process of possibly switching vendors for IV pumps. Curious what other facilities are using and pros and cons. What department do you work in and what pump system do you use? (Baxter, Hospira, Care Infusion etc..

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Specializes in ICU.

I can tell you what NOT to use!

Don't use these:

They have got to weigh at least 6-7 pounds and lugging them around is a nightmare. They are probably 12 inches x 12 inches x 3 inches deep and take up huge amounts of space. They only run one line each. I can't believe I work for a 900+ bed hospital and we use these dinosaurs. It's embarrassing.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Alaris infusion pumps, they are heavy don't take up a ton of space, user friendly

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Specializes in Oncology.

I hate our Alaris pumps. The channels always go missing, so when my patients hgb comes back at 6 I'm hunting in every room trying to find which patients have channels they aren't using I can steal. Then when that patient tanks their pressure and you want to start levophed that nurse is going channel hunting. They're also ridiculously sensitive to air bubbles. If the pump is on when you put tubing in, there is NO way to prevent it from beeping when you close the door. Not good when you're trying to be a stealthy nightshifter. Further, everytime you turn them off the alarm volume resets to the loudest level. Which is CRAZY loud. The Guardrails system requires tons of button pushes and it beeps every time you press a button.

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Specializes in NICU.

We use alaris...pretty user friendly. But very sensitive to air bubbles always getting caught in the chamber inside the pump...especially with thicker fluids like albumin or TPN. You have to open the chamber and whack the heck out of it to get them out lol.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.

Plum "A" pump made by hospira. Float nurse med-Surg. You can only run 2x meds at a time and the batteries don't always hold a charge but they are very user friendly and easy to trouble shoot. I have no idea how to copy and paste a picture or I would...

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.

Well that was a PITA but hey there's a picture!

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Baxter sigma spectrum pumps...you need multiple pumps for different infusions that can't be piggy backed but they're so small and easy it's worth it

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