A Comparison of Pumping Infusion-Induced Contamination With Different Syringe Types

Health care providers use several types of syringes in their daily routine to provide or safely deliver therapeutic agents to patients. Pump infusion with a syringe (PIS) are used for the rapid delivery of large amounts of fluid or blood to patients in critical conditions, such as hypovolemic shock. Patients often experience bacterial infections, such as catheter-related bloodstream infections, specifically when they are in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU) after surgery or undergoing resuscitation in an emergency department. A previous study has shown that PIS may cause intraluminal contamination. This study compared PIS-induced contamination among different types of available syringes, including disposable plastic syringes produced by several companies, glass syringes, and syringes with plastic covers. The authors found that plastic syringes caused approximately equivalent PIS-induced contamination and that glass syringes caused substantially more contamination than plastic syringes. However, syringes equipped with a plastic cover exhibited no contamination. Furthermore, disinfection with ethanol completely prevented PIS-induced contamination. This study supports the evidence that PIS may cause bacterial contamination and that a thorough aseptic technique is needed, especially when using glass syringes. These findings highlight the need to develop alternative devices for rapid infusion.