Syringe Pump or Buretrol?

[QTBabyNurse, BSN, RN]

when administering iv meds to newborns, does your hospital use a syringe pump or do you add your meds through a buretrol.....what are the pros and cons of each?

[SmilingBluEyes]

Buretrol is what we use. I have not used anything different anywhere I worked..... And we put one hour's worth of fluid in it to infuse. It's a fairly safe system, used properly with any IV pump.

[unknown99, BSN, RN]

Buretrol is what we use. It is much safer in that it has to be checked more often. The sets we have can only be set for one hour before an alarm will sound telling the nurse it has to be checked. And of course the IV site itself is checked every hour also.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

I work NICU and our unit always uses syringe pumps for "IV push" meds, generally given over 30-60minutes. We use Buretrols for our maintenance IV fluids allowing no more than 2 hours fluid in them at a time. Occasionally we will use a syringe pump to administer continuous fluids; generally UAC/art line fluids that run at 1ml/hr. I think the only reason we do that is lack of regular IV pumps.

I remember adding meds (such as antibiotics) to buretrols when I did my rotation through Pediatrics in school. The only thing I've seen added like that at our hospital is concentrated KCL to an existing IVF.

[suzanne4, RN]

Syringe pumps...........even for maint. fluids because they can be more accurate and you can run very small amounts, especially for pressors and versed/fentanyl gtts for the small ones............

[prmenrs, RN]

Regular IV fluids via regular IV pump, meds, critical drips, and breast milk via syringe pumps.

[Mimi2RN, ASN, RN]

We use buratrols for maintenance fluids, and syringe pumps for the meds we don't push, too. The problem with using the buratrol for meds on neonates is the volume of the fluid in the tubing. If we have an IV going at 10cc/hr, oops! 10ml/hour, and put the med into the buratrol, it won't reach the baby for over an hour and a half. Ampicillin is supposed to be infused in one hour after it's been mixed, so I hope that you are pushing that med.

On peds, we use the buratrol for meds if the baby is over 6 months old.

[JVanRN]

We use Buratrol for any maintnence fluids also. Our pumps can also infuse at really small increments. (lipids going at 0.3 ml/hr) We use syringe pumps timed meds like antibiotics, boluses, stuff that doesn't run contiunuously. But on pedi we use burotrol for all meds.

[palesarah]

buretrol on the IV pump for fluids, syringe pump for meds here

[BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN]

No buretrols here, not for at least 15 years. We use syringe pumps and Alaris pumps. Our peds floors don't use them anymore either.

Mimi...we don't mix any of our meds anymore, we just got a satellite pharmacy and it is wonderful!

[dawngloves, BSN, RN]

Only kids with maintance fluids or TPN have Buretrols in my unit.IV meds are given via syringe pump.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I should have said: we do use syringe pumps for medications for our newborns; Buretrols are use strictly for maintanence fluids only. I did not know we were discussing medications, too. Sorry about that.