• Infusion Pump Recall
• Colleague Infusion Pump
• Medical Infusion Pump

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In its recent Infusion Pump Improvement Initiative, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlined some of the problems caused by pain pumps.

Between 2005 and 2009, the FDA received about 56,000 complaints of adverse incidents arising from the use of pain pumps, according to the agency's website. In addition, there were 87 pain pump recalls during that period. Of those 87, 14 were determined to be of the Class I variety, which means that use of the recalled product could cause serious negative health consequences or even death.

One of the problems that affected some pain pumps were software defects. Such malfunctions could potentially cause too much or too little fluid to be used by the pain pump.

Another problem that affects pain pumps are user interface issues. According to the FDA's initiative, there have also been numerous reports of confusing or unclear on-screen user instructions, which may lead to improper programming of medication doses or infusion rates.

Electrical and mechanical failures were another issue that the FDA cited as a problem with pain pumps. These incidents include the breaking of components of the pain pumps and premature battery failure.

The FDA launched its initiative to improve the safety and quality of care provided by external pain pumps.