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Infusion pumps small enough to be worn or carried by patients that are designed to deliver relatively small volumes of liquid medications and other solutions through intravenous (IV), epidural, or subcutaneous routes at pre-established accurate flow rates. These pumps usually consist of a pumping (e.g., peristaltic, syringe-driven) mechanism to move fluid from an internal solution container to the patient; they also include flow controls to select the dose or volume to be infused. The pumps may also include a display showing prompts and/or audible or visual alarms to indicate abnormal conditions. Multitherapy ambulatory pumps are mainly used to administer therapeutic drugs either continuously or intermittently; dedicated ambulatory pumps (both reusable and single-use) intended for administration of particular medications (e.g., analgesics, insulin) are also available.
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