RESIDUAL VOLUMES AND FINAL WEIGHTS IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLASTIC INFUSION CONTAINERS

Objective: To compare the residual volumes, the drained volumes, and the final weights of different infusion containers with different volumes and degrees of flexibility. The risk of drug error can be aggravated by a high residual volume remaining in a drained intravenous container. A high residual volume can also increase the final weight of the container after drainage. Methods: A total of 80 infusion containers containing normal saline of four different brands (Viaflo ® and Freeflex ® flexible bags and KabiPac ® and Ecoflac ® Plus semi-rigid containers) in two different volumes (250 and 500 ml) were tested. Every container type was tested ten times under close-vent conditions. Residual and total drained volumes and weights of drained containers before and after drying were assessed. Results: The residual volume that remained in the intravenous containers tested was lower than 2% of the declared volume, with only one exception (KabiPac ® 250 ml), in which the residual volume was higher than 10% of the declared volume. Using gravity drainage, among the 250 ml containers, only one (Viaflo ® ) reached the full declared total drained volume of 250 ml. By contrast, among the 500 ml containers, only one failed to reach the declared drained volume. There were significant differences in favor of flexible bags in the final weights of containers after drainage, and in one case (250 ml KabiPac ® semi-rigid container) the residual volume accounted for more than a half of the final container weight. Conclusion: All four types of containers can be used with the same resulting quality of parenteral treatment. Selection of a specific type of container will be affected primarily by the price (both acquisition and waste disposal costs) and requirements of personnel for handling the container. Keywords: Infusion therapy, Flexible, and semi-rigid containers, Residual volume