Laboratory assessment of the Baxter disposable patient‐controlled analgesia system

Abstract
The performance of the Baxter patient-controlled analgesia infusor system was assessed in the laboratory. The flow of the 5 ml.h-1 infusor was measured gravimetrically with the flow restrictor maintained at 31 degrees C and the reservoir at either 20 degrees C or 25 degrees C. At 25 degrees C the mean flow was 4.98 (SEM 0.06) ml.h-1 and at 20 degrees C the mean flow was 4.32 (0.05) ml.h-1. The patient-control module performed reliably, delivering a mean of 0.42 (0.001) ml following depression of the button, slightly less than the manufacturer's quoted value of 0.5 ml.