[Particles in infusion solutions].

Abstract

The significance of infusion therapy has increased considerably in the last two decades because of a constant expansion of indications and therapeutic possibilities. Like all other types of therapy, the efficiency of infusion therapy depends on the care taken in determining the indication and in administration. It is therefore imperative that everybody directly involved in this type of therapy is informed of the problems connected with the use of infusion solutions and aware of the specific risks of the infusion techniques in use. One essential risk inherent in the use of infusion solutions is the hazard of particulate contamination. This paper describes the potential sources which can lead to an influx of particles into the organism. Furthermore it is demonstrated that nowadays the primary or intrinsic contamination rate of commercially available solutions during manufacture and storage--as a result of the stringent regulations of the GMP (good manufacturing practice) is far below the high standard of the Australian pharmacopoea. The in-use or extrinsic contamination of infusion solutions, however, must be taken seriously as shown by the sharp increase of particulate contamination during routine hospital work. Under this aspect contamination of the organism with particles particularly increases because of additional injections into the tubing of the infusion system. Besides reducing additional administration of drugs into the infusion bottle or the infusion line to an absolutely necessary minimum, 5-micron filters have been found to effect a more than 90% reduction of particle influx as well as being easy to handle during routine clinical work.