Nurses’ perceptions of infusion safety during low-flow neonatal intravenous therapy: An international exploratory survey

Low-flow intravenous therapy in neonatal intensive care is vulnerable to delivery disturbances that may not be immediately detected by pressure-based occlusion alarms. We conducted an international exploratory survey of neonatal nurses to examine perceptions of alarm adequacy and confidence in patient-end drug delivery during low-flow therapy. Responses were analysed descriptively. A total of 151 nurses from 16 countries participated. While occlusion alarms were commonly encountered, confidence that alarms and pump displays reliably reflect patient-end delivery varied. Respondents emphasised the importance of rapid occlusion detection during high-risk infusions. These findings indicate conditional trust in alarm-based infusion systems during low-flow neonatal therapy.