Consensus on neonatal infusion pumps and pressure monitoring

Wilkins and Emmerson 1 highlighted the lack of consensus on the management of extravasation injuries in neonates. Modern neonatal infusion pumps can measure inline intravenous pressure and could theoretically detect early infiltration and subsequent extravasation injuries. 2 But in clinical practice, extravasation injuries appear to occur even when inline pressures are monitored and cannulae sites are inspected hourly. However, it is a common misconception that occlusion alarms on infusion pumps will signal infiltration. In fact, pumps will alarm only when downstream pressure reaches a specified value, and elevated pressures resulting from infiltration are typically far lower …