[Continuous administration of drugs by infusion pumps. Presentation of an infusion rate mathematical computing...

Intensive therapy includes continuous delivery of drugs with infusion pump. This article describes an infusion rate computing programme using a Macintosh micro-computer and the HyperCard 2 software. The latter permits the classification of data onto cards collected in stacks. The card that is displayed when the programme is launched shows fifteen buttons assigned to various drugs. Click upon a button opens the corresponding card which displays the presentation of the drug and suggests a dilution. The next step associates input of patient's weight into the appropriate field and a click on the main button. A display then indicates for various standard dosages, the corresponding rate of infusion in mL.h-1 and the daily consumption of the drug. In order to avoid casual or voluntary changes of the setting, soft securities have been inserted in the programme.