A comparison of the safety and efficiency of three intermittent intravenous therapy systems—the minibottle, the minibag and the inline burette

Abstract

Three systems for administering intermittent intravenous medications, using 144 doses for each system, were evaluated on the basis of contamination rates, efficiency of preparation administration time and cost. Each sample was filtered and the filters were cultured to count and identify contaminating organisms. The minibottle system was significantly more contaminated than the inline burette system, which in turn was more contaminated than the minibag system. Standard time and motion study techniques revealed that compounding, dispensing and administration times for the minibug and inline burette are similar, hut each is significantly faster than the minibottle. Cost analysis revealed the inline burette is least expensive, with the minibag system being most expensive. The advantages and disadvantages of each system were discussed The authors recommend the minibag over the other two systems because it is safer for the patient.