A questionnaire survey on operability of syringe pumps for prefilled syringes.

Some types of syringe pumps currently available for use of prefilled syringes (PFS) require setting for syringe size which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. We conducted a questionnaire survey for 10 nurses at the emergency critical care center of this hospital on the operating procedures of two different types of syringe pump (i.e., from turning on the power to PFS setting, PFS mounting, flow rate setting, and start of drug infusion), in terms of (1) manipulation time, (2) accuracy of task performance, and (3) operability. The syringe pumps used were: type A, TE-331S0N (Terumo Corporation), and type B, CSP-100S (Daiken Medical Co., Ltd.). The PFS product used was Inovan Injection 0.3% Syringe (dopamine hydrochloride injection; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd.). Type A required no mode setting for exclusive use of PFS, while mode setting for exclusive use of PFS is mandatory for type B. The task process from turning on the power to drug infusion start comprised 5 and 13 steps for type A and B, respectively. Manipulation time was significantly shorter with type A, compared to type B. As for accuracy of task performance, 90% of nurses performed manipulations accurately with type A; whereas with type B, 90% of nurses were close to failing or actually failed to follow the procedures appropriately, and only 10% followed accurately. Thus, type A proved superior in 4 of the 5 points of issue except "easy to set flow rate". In conclusion, the results indicate the importance of standardizing the syringe size and other specifications through the cooperation of pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to cope with the future spread of PFS.