Continuous drug delivery by an implantable pump

Continuous infusion of drugs via an implantable infusion system offers advantages that are not available with other methods of drug delivery. For patients who require frequent drug injections, a continuous drug level, or high local concentrations, an implantable pump may assure compliance, comfort, and an improved therapeutic response. This method of drug delivery has been shown to be reliable and well tolerated by patients in numerous clinical trials. For hospice care professionals, familiarity with the mechanism of drug delivery and the various approved and experimental uses of the implantable pump will in all likelihood become increasingly important. At the present time regional infusion chemotherapy and intraspinal narcotic infusion for cancer pain seem to be most frequently encountered in a hospice setting. However, other uses for these implantable infusion systems are rapidly being developed, and this means of drug delivery probably will become more common in the next few years. One of the goals of continuous drug infusion by implantable pumps--optimal medical care without confining the patient to a hospital bed--is eminently compatible with the philosophy of hospice care.