IV infusion control device | An automated volumetric infusion device that provides an accurate infusion of IV fluids at a rate and volume determined by the clinician. The converse would be a controlled regulator giving set which is non-automated and requires manual adjustment of a regulator clamp to ensure correct flow rate. |
IV lines | Peripheral, peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), or central lines. |
Non-IV lines | Nasogastric tubes and drainage tubes such as urinary catheters and wound drainage tubes. |
Additive | Any electrolyte added to the bag of IV fluid. |
Alternating bags of fluid | Refers to two different types of prescribed IV fluids to be administered in an alternating sequence. |
Burette | An optional piece of IV equipment that is placed between the IV bag and IV administration set, which is used to control the amount of fluid available to be infused. |
Invasive procedures | Includes surgery or endoscopy, whereas non-invasive procedures would include admission for observation or IV antibiotics. |
All permanent staff | Indicates that all nurses working at the time of the observation were permanently allocated to a specific ward. The converse would be a mixture of permanent and pooled staff where pooled nurses work on different wards on different days |
Creatinine clearance | Estimated glomerular filtration rate using the Cockcroft-Gault equation, where total body weight was used as the weight descriptor. |
Duration of infusion | Length of time from initiation of administration to the time the observation was made. |
Time of day | Time that the observation was made. This was treated as a binomial variable consisting of either the day shift (09.00 to 16.00 hours) or the night shift (20.00 to 03.00 hours). |
IV pain relief | IV infusions of opiates. |
Level of nursing experience | Average score of all nurses working at the time the observation was made based on their grade. Graduate nurses, enrolled nurses, and re-entry nurses were given a score of 10, level 1 nurses were given a score of 20, and level 2 nurses were given a score of 30. |
Occupancy of bed bay | Number of occupied beds within the bed bay divided by the maximum number of beds within the bed bay. |