Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2014
Case ReportsFentanyl Overdose Caused by Malfunction of SynchroMed II Intrathecal Pump: Two Case Reports.
Intrathecal drug delivery systems (intrathecal pumps) are used to treat patients with chronic refractory pain syndromes and spasticity. The objective of our case report was to demonstrate that intrathecal pump malfunction can lead to intrathecal overdosing of drugs. ⋯ We present 2 cases of intrathecal pump malfunction, which most likely led to overinfusion of fentanyl intrathecally. To reduce the risk of this complication, particular attention should be paid to drug reservoir volume discrepancies and overdose symptoms reported by patients.