Evaluation of a disposable, elastomeric infusion device in the home environment

The use of a disposable, elastomeric infusion device was evaluated in 55 patients receiving home antimicrobial therapy. During a 30-day period, all patients referred to five service centers to receive home antimicrobial therapy for at least one week were enrolled in the study. Pharmacists used an automated pump to fill 110-mL, 100-mL/hr elastomeric devices (Homepump; Block Medical, Carlsbad, CA). Nurses trained patients to use the device. Nurses and pharmacists completed an evaluation form for each patient. Fifty-five patients received a total of 1938 doses; a fresh device was used to administer each dose. Nurses described patient teaching for the device as easy (51) or no different from that for other devices (4). Patient acceptance was reported to be good in 54 patients and poor in 1 patient. A total of 91 restarts were required; 36 patients needed more than one restart. The failure rate of the device was 1.6%; 25 of 44 reported problems occurred in devices that were frozen and thawed before use. The Homepump was determined to be an acceptable device for the intermittent infusion of small-volume antimicrobial solutions in the home environment because of its low failure rate and high degree of patient and nursing preference; its drawbacks include high cost and slowed infusion rates for units that are not thawed properly after freezing.