Monitoring smart infusion pumps in adult intensive care units
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.5160Keywords:
Medication Therapy Management, Infusión Pumps, Patient Safety, Health Information Interoperability, Critical Care NursingAbstract
Highlights
- Medication administration is a relevant competency in the education and nursing care practice of nursing professionals.
- Infusion pumps are essential tools in intensive care units, as they establish controls for safe medication administration.
- Drug libraries enable healthcare professionals to standardize practices in the administration of all types of intravenous medications, thereby preventing medication safety events.
- Coordination between infusion pumps, drug libraries, monitoring platforms, and committed healthcare professionals ensures the quality of care and continuous improvement within institutions.
Introduction: Medication administration in intensive care units is one of the main care activities of nursing professionals. The integration of scientific knowledge, together with the use of technologies such as infusion pumps, enables the reduction of errors and improves the quality of care. Objective: To describe the use of an infusion pump monitoring platform for medication administration in adult intensive care units at a university hospital in Bogotá, Colombia. Materials and Methods: This was an observational, retrospective study that collected 35,738 medication administration records from five intensive care units using a monitoring platform during 2023. A descriptive analysis was performed using frequencies and proportions, along with simple associations assessing compliance between medications and doses. Results: Compliance with the drug library during the first year of the platform was 66%. The platform reported 5,589 hard-limit blocks involving high-alert medications, of which 76% were related to the administration of noradrenaline, midazolam, and fentanyl. Discussion: The results were consistent with other studies, demonstrating drug library compliance ranging from 65% to 80% during the first year of implementation. Conclusion: The implementation of institutional medication administration monitoring programs, using technologies integrated into infusion pumps, positively impacts patient safety, reduces costs associated with care, and continuous improvement within institutions.
How to cite this article: Narváez-Martínez Mario Andrés, Rosas-Santana Andrea, Rojas-Castañeda Yudy Andrea, Zapata-Cristancho Diana Catalina. Monitoring smart infusion pumps in adult intensive care units. Revista Cuidarte. 2026;17(1):e5160. https://doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.5160
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