Effect of non-return valves on the time-of-arrival of new medication in a patient after syringe exchange in an infusion set-up

Abstract

The presence of a non-return valve in an infusion set-up is expected to affect the time-of-arrival of new medication in a patient after syringe exchange. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) we have studied the flow through a typical non-return valve, focusing on two separate effects: (A) the overall delay in the time-of-arrival, and (B) timing effects due to the distortion of the Poiseuille flow profile in the non-return valve. The results show that (A) the additional delay in time-of-arrival of new medication, caused by the non-return valve alone, corresponds to the delay that would be caused by 11.2 cm of extra infusion line instead of the valve, and that (B) the non-Poiseuille flow profile inside the non-return valve gives rise to an extra slow wash-out of the last portion of the remnant fluid of the old medication. We conclude that awareness of these extra delays may be important for clinicians in certain time-critical situations.

10 clinical tips for advancing patient safety when using syringe pump systems for microinfusion intravenous drug therapy

“…short-acting critical drugs. 10,14,19,20 Microinfusions are run continuously and fresh infusions are required on a regular basis. Recent clinical research has demonstrated that, independent of the changeover strategy used, at least 25% of critical haemodynamic events occurred around changeover when administering norepinephrine to critically ill adult patients.…”

“…This is especially relevant during syringe changeover when infusing highly concentrated, i.v. short-acting critical drugs 10,14,19,20 …”