Retrospective analysis of failures of ambulatory elastomeric pumps containing 5-FU in a hospital pharmacy unit

Abstract

Introduction Ambulatory chemotherapy is an important and major advance in clinical oncology practice since it allows the administration of chemotherapy in the comfort of the patient's home without the assistance of a health professional by means of an elastomeric pump. However, these pumps are not without risks and can be the cause of incidents due to technical failures. Our objective is to study the technical failures of elastomeric pumps in the Cytotoxic Preparation Unit and in the patient's home, to evaluate the possible impact of these failures on the patient and on the staff and to propose measures to reduce them. Materials and methods This is a retrospective study conducted at the pharmacy of the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat. It gathered all the specific reports on elastomeric pumps issued during the period (January 2017–May 2021) by the cytotoxic preparation unit to the materiovigilance cell via a notification form. Results 205 cases of elastomeric pump materialovigilance were identified during the study period. The main technical failures were: chemotherapy product leakage (44%), flow rate anomalies (30%) and injection difficulties (20%). Following these incidents, certain actions were undertaken such as alerts sent to the supplier and letters sent to the competent health authorities. Conclusion Despite the failures that may have occurred, elastomeric pumps have revolutionized home chemotherapy delivery. They are considered reliable, consistent, easy to use and handle, and are well accepted in the population.