In medicine, infusion therapy deals with all aspects of fluid and medication infusion, via

intravenous Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutr ...

or subcutaneous application. A special

infusion pump An infusion pump infuses fluids, medication or nutrients into a patient's circulatory system. It is generally used intravenously, although subcutaneous, arterial and epidural infusions are occasionally used. Infusion pumps can administer ...

can be used for this purpose. A fenestrated catheter is frequently inserted into the localized area to be treated. There are a range of delivery methods for infusion of drugs via

catheter In medicine, a catheter ( ) is a thin tubing (material), tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. ...

: *Electronic Pump: Drugs are often pre-mixed from vials and stored in infusion bags to be delivered by electronic pump. * Elastomeric pump *Pre-Filled Infusion Therapy: with this latest technology, a unit dose can be metered to the location from a pre-filled container. Infusion therapy has a range of medical applications including sedation, anesthesia, post-operative analgesic pain management, chemotherapy, and treatment of infectious diseases Advantages of infusion therapy over other non-site-specific delivery methodologies are primarily efficacy through precision of medication delivery. New standards for infusible pharmaceuticals have been achieved in recent years with the advent of pre-filled, ready-to-use, dose-specific products. Advanced aseptic presentation, with hermetically sealed containers, allows predictable sterility, ease of use, improved control, and lower total costs. Essentially, systematizing the delivery mechanism and standardizing the delivery container.

Treatments

Infusion therapy involves the administration of medication through a needle or catheter. Typically, "infusion therapy" means that a drug is administered intravenously or subcutaneously. The term may pertain where drugs are provided through other non-oral

routes of administration In pharmacology and toxicology, a route of administration is the way by which a medication, drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body. Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance ...

, such as

intramuscular injection Intramuscular injection, often abbreviated IM, is the medical injection, injection of a substance into a muscle. In medicine, it is one of several methods for parenteral, parenteral administration of medications. Intramuscular injection may be ...

and

epidural administration Epidural administration (from Ancient Greek ἐπί, "upon" + '' dura mater'') is a method of medication administration in which a medicine is injected into the epidural space around the spinal cord. The epidural route is used by physicians ...

(into the membranes surrounding the spinal cord). Until the 1980s, patients receiving infusion therapy often had to remain in an inpatient setting for the duration of their therapy. New technologies and heightened emphasis on cost containment in

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

, as well as developments in the clinical administration of the therapy, led to strategies to administer infusion therapy in alternate settings (at clinics and at home) in an effort to reduce hospital readmissions.

References

{{Reflist Routes of administration

Treatments

See also

References