Standardised concentrations of morphine infusions for nurse/patient-controlled analgesia use in children

BACKGROUND: Standardizing concentrations of intravenous infusions enables pre-preparation and is effective in improving patient safety by avoiding large deviations from the prescribed concentration that can occur when infusions are made individually in wards and theatres. The use of pre-prepared morphine standardized concentration infusions for paediatric nurse/patient-controlled analgesia (N/PCA) has not been previously investigated. We aimed to establish, implement and evaluate standardized concentrations of morphine in pre-filled syringes (PFS) for use in paediatric N/PCA. METHODS: Concentrations of morphine in PFS for N/PCA were identified that accommodated dosage variation across a 1–50 kg weight range. The use of infusions in PFS was implemented and evaluated using mixed methods involved direct observation of healthcare professionals (HCPs), focus groups and failure mode and effects analysis, a HCP survey and medication incident reports analysis. RESULTS: Standardized concentrations, 3 mg, 10 mg and 50 mg morphine in 50 mL sodium chloride 0.9%, delivered prescribed continuous and bolus doses using programmable smart pumps with variable infusion rates. During the implementation, 175 morphine pre-prepared infusions were administered to 157 children (9.4 ± 5.1 years) in theatres and wards. Time taken to set up a N/PCA was 3.7 ± 1.7 min, a reduction of one third compared with the previous system. The number of incidents associated with N/PCA infusions was reduced by 41.2%, and preparation errors were eliminated. HCPs reported using morphine PFS was an easier and safer system. CONCLUSION: A system using pre-prepared standardized concentrations of morphine for paediatric N/PCA was implemented successfully and sustainably. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12871-019-0697-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.