Infusion Therapy Glossary
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[ A ]
Admix: To mix; to combine two or more medications.
Ambulatory Infusion Device: Electromechanical infusion device specifically designed to be worn on the body to promote patient mobility and independence.
Amino Acids: Organic components of protein.
Ampule: Hermetically sealed glass medication container which must be broken at the neck to access the medication.
Anaphylaxis: An unusual or exaggerated allergic reaction to foreign proteins or other substances.
Anemia: An abnormal decrease in the concentration of erythrocytes (red blood cells), concentration of hemoglobin, or hematocrit.
Antibiotic Drug: Any of a number of substances produced by one microorganism and inhibitory to another microorganism.
Anti-Free Flow Administration Set: Administration set that stops when removed from the infusion device, yet allows gravity flow when the user manipulates the regulatory mechanism.
Antimicrobial: Preventing or destroying the growth and development of microorganisms.
Antineoplastic Agent: Medication that prevents the development, growth, or proliferation of malignant cells.
Aseptic Technique: Mechanisms employed to reduce potential contamination.
Bacteria: Microorganisms that may be nonpathogenic (normal flora) or pathogenic (disease-causing).
Bioharzardous Waste: Blood, body fluids, body parts, or materials that have come in contact with blood, body fluids, or body parts and have the potential to carry blood borne pathogens.
Bolus: Concentrated medication and/or solution given rapidly over a short period of time.
Body Surface Area: Surface area of the body expressed in square meters. Used in calculating pediatric dosage, managing burn patients, and determining radiation and chemotherapy dosage.
Cannula: Hollow tube made of silastic, rubber, plastic, or metal, used for accessing the body.
Catheter: In infusion therapy, the tube that is inserted into the body (e.g. into a vein) so that drugs or other fluids can be administered.
Cellulitis: Infection of the skin and surrounding soft tissue.
Central Venous Catheter: Catheter inserted into a centrally located vein with the tip residing in the vena cava; permits intermittent or continuous infusion and/or access into the venous system.
Chemical Incompatibility: Change in the molecular structure or pharmacological properties of a substance that may or may not be visually observed.
Closed System: Administration system with no mechanism for external entry after initial set up and assembly.
Compatibility: Capability to be mixed and administered without undergoing undesirable chemical and/or physical changes or loss of therapeutic action.
Contamination: Introduction or transference of pathogens or infectious material from one source to another.
Cross-Contamination: Movement of pathogens from one source to another.
Cytotoxic drug: A drug that as a specific toxic action upon cells or special organs.
Delivery System: Product that allows for the administration of medication. The system can be integral or can have component parts and includes all products used in the administration, from the solution container to the catheter.
Disinfectant: Agent that eliminates all microorganisms except spores.
Drug Regimen: A systematic plan for taking medication that is designed to improve or maintain the health of a patient.
Durable Medical Equipment: Medical equipment that is capable of withstanding repeated use, generally not useful to someone in the absence of injury or illness, and appropriate for home use. Examples include intravenous poles and infusion pumps.
Elastomeric Infusion Pump: An infusion device that consists of a disposable container with an inner elastic bladder that can be filled with medication.
Electronic Infusion Device (EID): Electronic instrument, either a pump (i.e., positive pressure) or controller (i.e., gravity fed), that is used to regulate the flow rate of the prescribed therapy; often referred to as an electronic flow-control device.
Enteral Nutrition: The intake of nutrients that undergo at leas partial processing in the intestine. Strictly speaking, enteral nutrition includes normal food intake through the mouth. However, the term is often used to indicate more specifically the intake of nutrients through a tube that leads directly to the stomach or the small intestine.
Epidural Space: Space superior to the dura matter of the brain and the spinal cord and inferior to the ligamentum flavum.
Epithelialized: Grown over with epithelial cells; said of a wound or catheter site.
Erythema: Redness of skin along vein track that results from vascular irritation or capillary congestion in response to irritation; may be a precursor to phlebitis.
Extravasation: Inadvertent infiltration of vesicant solution or medication into surrounding tissue; rated by a standard scale.
Family caregiver: A family member or friend who assists the patient in self-care responsibilities on an unpaid basis.
Fat Emulsion (Lipid Emulsion): Combination of liquid, lipid, and an emulsifying system suitable for intravenous use.
Febrile: Of or pertaining to fever.
Filter: Special porous device used to prevent the passage of air or other undesired substances; product design determines size of substances retained.
Gravity Drip System: A drug delivery system in which a bag or bottle is hung on a hook or a pole above the level of the patient, and fluid flows by gravity down the line and into the catheter. The rate of flow in a simple gravity drip system is controlled primarily by a special clamp or valve on the line that can be adjusted to permit the prescribed amount of fluid to flow through.
Health Maintenance Organization (HM0): A health care organization that, in return for prospective per capita payments, acts as both insurer and provider of comprehensive but specified medical services.
Hemostasis: Arrest of bleeding or of circulation.
Heparin: An anticoagulant drug.
Home Drug Infusion Therapy: Treatment that consists of prolonged (or continuous) injections of drugs that are administered in the home, usually repeatedly.
Hospice: A facility or program designed to provide a caring environment for supplying the physical and emotional needs of the terminally ill.
Immune System: The body's defense method, characterized by a high degree of resistance to specific foreign substances.
Immunocompromised: Have an immune system with reduced capability to react to pathogens or tissue damage.
Implanted Port: A catheter surgically placed into a vessel or body cavity and attached to a reservoir located under the skin.
Implanted Pump: A catheter surgically placed into a vessel or body cavity and attached to a reservoir located under the skin that contains a pumping mechanism for continuous medication administration.
Incompatible: Incapable of being mixed or used simultaneously without undergoing chemical or physical changes or producing undesirable effects.
Infection: Presence and growth of a pathogenic microorganism.
Infiltration: Inadvertent administration of a nonvesicant solution or medication into surrounding tissue; rated by a standard scale.
Infusate: Parenteral solution administered into the vascular or nonvascular systems; infusion.
Infusion Pump: A device that moves an infused fluid into the body under positive pressure.
Injection/Access Port: Resealable cap or other configuration designed to accommodate needleless devices for administration of solutions into the vascular system.
Intermittent Intravenous Therapy: Intravenous therapy administered at prescribed intervals with periods of infusion cessation.
Intrathecal: Within the spinal canal.
Intravenous: Into the venous circulatory system.
Intravenous Drug Administration: Entrance of a drug into the body by way of a vein.
Investigational Drug: Drug undergoing investigation for a specific use via a clinical trial to determine its safety and effectiveness in humans.
Laminar Flow Hood: Contained work station with filtered air flow. Assists in preventing bacterial contamination and collection of hazardous chemical fumes in the work area.
Lumen: Interior space of a tubular structure, such as a blood vessel or catheter.
Lymph Edema: Swelling caused by obstruction of the lymphatic vessel(s).
Manual Flow-Control Device: Manually operated device to control the flow rate of the infusion.
Microorganism: Minute living body not perceptible to the naked eye.
Midline Catheter: Longer than a peripheral line but shorter than a central line, a midline catheter is most frequently placed in one of the large veins of the upper arm (basilic, cephalic, or median antecubital) and advanced into the larger vessels of the upper arm, allowing for greater hemodilution.
Multiple-Dose Vial: Medication bottle that is hermetically sealed with a rubber stopper and is designed to be used more than once.
Needleless System: Substitute for a needle or a sharp access catheter, available in various designs, e.g., blunt, recessed, valve.
Nosocomial Infection: An infection originating in a hospital.
Occluded: Blocked because of precipitation of infusate, clot formation, or anatomic compression.
Osmolality: Characteristic of a solution determined by the ionic concentration of the dissolved substances per unit of solvent; measured in milliosmoles per kilogram.
Osteomyelitis: Infection of the bone.
Palliative: Relieving or alleviating without curing.
Palpable Cord: Vein that is rigid and hard to the touch.
Parenteral: Administered by any route other than the alimentary canal, such as the intravenous, subcutaneous, intramuscular, or mucosal route.
Parenteral Nutrition: Intravenous provision of total nutritional needs for a patient who is unable to take appropriate amounts of food enterally; typical components include carbohydrates, proteins, and/or fats, as well as additives such as electrolytes, vitamins, and trace elements.
Pathogen: Microorganism or substance capable of producing disease.
Peripheral IV catheter: An intravenous access via a short peripheral line requiring the percutaneous insertion of a flexible catheter or needle into a peripheral vein.
Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC): Soft flexible central venous catheter inserted into an extremity and advanced until the tip is positioned in the vena cava.
pH: Degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance.
Phlebitis: Inflammation of a vein; may be accompanied by pain, erythema, edema, streak formation, and/or palpable cord; rated by a standard scale.
Phlebotomy: Withdrawal of blood from a vein.
Positive Pressure: Constant, even force within a catheter lumen that prevents reflux of blood; achieved by clamping while injecting or by withdrawing the needle from the catheter while injecting.
Preservative-Free: Containing no added substance capable of inhibiting bacterial contamination.
Procedure: Written statement of steps required to complete an action.
Process: Actual performance and observation of performance based on compliance with policies, procedures, and professional standards.
Purulent: Containing or producing pus.
Push: Manual administration of medication under pressure.
Sepsis: Presence of infectious microorganisms or their toxins in the bloodstream.
Sharps: Objects in the healthcare setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin and to result in an exposure incident, including but not limited to needle devises, scalpels, lancets, broken glass, or broken capillary tubes.
Single-Use Vial: Medication bottle that is hermetically sealed with a rubber stopper and is intended for one-time use.
Sterile: Free from living organisms.
Subcutaneous drug administration: Entrance of a drug into the body by means of a needle or catheter inserted under the skin.
Third-party Payer: Payment by a private insurer or government program to a medical provider for care given to a patient.
Thrombolytic Agent: Pharmacological agent capable of dissolving blood clots.
Thrombophlebitis: Inflammation of the vein in conjunction with formation of a blood clot (thrombus).
Thrombosis: Formation, development, or existence of a blood clot within the vascular system.
Total Parenteral Nutrition: A feeding system that includes all the nutrients needed by the body and that is introduced into the body intravenously.
Transparent Semi-Permeable Membrane (TSM): Sterile, air-permeable dressing that allows visual inspection of the skin surface beneath it; water resistant.
Tunneled Catheter: Vascular access device whose proximal end is tunneled subcutaneously from the insertion site and brought out through the skin at an exit site.
Vascular System: The body's network of arteries, veins, and capillaries.
Vein: A vessel that carries blood from various organs of parts of the body.
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