What do you always try to put on an IV pump?

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Specializes in Cath Lab, OR, CPHN/SN, ER.

In the ED, we put a lot of stuff on gravity or dial-a-flows.

However, there are certain things I am anal about putting on a pump.

Anything with K

Blood

Of course anything that has to be regulated (nitro, dopamine, cardizem...)

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Our hospital protocol does not let us use a pump for blood or blood products.

We must use a pump for Insulin, Heparin, K+ (or any IVF with 40 mEq's or more of K), Magnesium, 3% Saline, TPN (which can only go to a Central line also), PPN, Vanco, Cardiac drips such as Cardizem, Nitro, Dopamine, Dobutamine.

There are a couple of others that I'm sure I missed--I'd probably put Fe Dextran on a pump, and Amphotericin B, among others.

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Specializes in med surg, SICU.

I work med-surg and we put absolutely everything on a plum pump including NS. I think it's more a convenience measure than anything.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

What Angie said.

We use pumps for rates of 150. If it has more than 20 of potassium, or other additives (besides MVI), we'll use a pump, but with the very common 20 of potassium if it's within those rates we won't use a pump.

If I have a good IV I will hang blood to gravity as well.

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Hmmmmm, I'm not quite understanding what you all are saying.

Never heard of "dial a flows" and I thought using gravity was from the olden days (isn't that the old counting drops method?).

We use IV pumps for all our IV's. Even blood. The only exception is an emergency bolus in the ER - then we open the clamp and let it go wide open.

steph

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Steph. "dial-a-flows" are neat, we have always had them, but they made a push for them a few years ago for us to use them more often and use less pumps. They help to regulate the drip by gravity. Kind of hard to explain without a visual, it has tubing at both ends, that attaches to the end of your tubing and then to the patient.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

dialaflow.jpg

This is the only picture I could find. You put the alligator clip on one end and insert it into the heplock. The other end screws onto the IV tubing.

Then you adjust the rate using the white dial (it's too small to see, but it has numbers on it, from 0 to "Prime").

Much safer, IMO, than adjusting with those roller clamps, which can slip too easily into freeflow with patient movement.

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The dial a flow things are safer than the roller clamp- but they aren;t entirely accurate- or at least the ones I have used- weren't very accurate. If I really want a certain flow- I use a pump. If I just want the patient to either get "some fluid" or a bolus, I open up the clamp.

Blood- I don't think I've ever put it on a pump. (yet).

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

At least on our Med/Surge floors, we use a pump for just about everything. If a patient is getting blood we might put that to gravity, and platelets are almost always given to gravity. Otherwise, everything else goes on a pump whenever possible. If we are extremely busy and actually run out of pumps, we can use dial-a-flows if patients are just getting maintenance fluids like NS, D5LR, LR, etc...

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Specializes in OB, ortho/neuro, home care, office.

Everything. Always blood, antibiotics and plasma. Only thing I have ever seen a problem with using a pump is IVIG and well as albumin don't flow well through the pump so I hang those to gravity.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

we have no dial-a-flows. It's either on pump, or gravity with estimate of flow rate. (I should note, this is an OB/Newborn unit)

We put lots of things on pumps:

blood

Magnesium

Pitocin

Morphine, Dilaudid, Fentanyl, other narcs (pca, separate)

Any solution containing potassium or other specific electrolytes

Dextrose solutions

Things containing added meds, like Nubain

Insulin (obviously)

Anything being delivered to newborns----we use Buretrol plus Pump

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Specializes in Internal Medicine Unit.
Our hospital protocol does not let us use a pump for blood or blood products.

We must use a pump for Insulin, Heparin, K+ (or any IVF with 40 mEq's or more of K), Magnesium, 3% Saline, TPN (which can only go to a Central line also), PPN, Vanco, Cardiac drips such as Cardizem, Nitro, Dopamine, Dobutamine.

There are a couple of others that I'm sure I missed--I'd probably put Fe Dextran on a pump, and Amphotericin B, among others.

Our protocol requires us to use a pump for blood products, but otherwise the meds for us are the same as above. Our MD's prefer that we put CHF patients on pumps r/t inaccuracy of dial a flows, but we very seldom have a pump to place them on. I also like to place any central line on a pump.

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