Abstract
BACKGROUND: Inaccuracies associated with target-controlled infusion (TCI) delivery systems are attributable to both software and hardware issues, as well as pharmacokinetic variability. However, little is known about the inaccuracy of the syringe pump operating in TCI mode. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the TCI pump based on international standards. METHODS: A test apparatus for accuracy evaluation of a syringe pump (PION TCI(®), Bionet Co. Ltd.) was designed to apply the gravimetric method. Pump accuracy was evaluated in terms of deviation defined by the following equation: infusion rate deviation (%) = (Rate(mea) - Rate(est) ) / Rate(est) × 100, where Rate(mea) is the infusion rate (ml/h) as measured by the gravimetric system, and Rate(est) is the infusion rate (ml/h) as estimated by the pump. An infusion rate representing TCI mode was determined from previous clinical trial data which evaluated the predictive performance of the pharmacokinetic model. The PION TCI pump used in that clinical trial was used to evaluate accuracy of the syringe pump. The distribution of infusion rates obtained from the clinical trial was calculated, and the median value of the distribution was determined as the representative value. RESULTS: The representative infusion rate representing TCI mode was 31 ml/h, at which the infusion rate deviation was 4.5 ± 1.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The inaccuracy of the syringe pump contributing to TCI system inaccuracy is insignificant.