Treatment of the patient with cancer using parenteral electronic drug administration

Oncologic therapy demands technologic sophistication to meet the clinical challenges of proper drug administration for chemotherapeutic agents, pain management, antibiotics, hydration, antiemetic drugs, and total parenteral nutrition. Drug administration systems for patient-controlled analgesia include benefits of improved pain control, minimal adverse reactions, lower doses compared with conventional therapy, a high degree of patient acceptance, reduced labor costs, and achievable home therapy. System advances have made epidural, intrathecal, intravenous with bolus capability, and regional or implantable administration possible. In chemotherapy, protracted drug infusions and considerations of circadian rhythms, sequences, and cytostatic treatment will be enhanced further by automated programmable pumps that can meet the challenges of complex protocols. Multidrug antibiotic treatments also are a reality. Electronic drug administration will continue to meet the challenges of site-specific agents and complex dosing regimens to provide therapy for the patient with cancer to achieve an efficacious safe acceptable efficient cost-benefit ratio.