April 23, 2010CHICAGO (AP) -- Federal health regulators are taking steps to improve the design and safety of drug pumps.
The pumps have been linked to more than 700 deaths in the past five years. Dr. Jeffrey Shuren of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the initiative Friday at a health journalists' conference in Chicago.
Infusion pumps are used to deliver liquid medicines like insulin, morphine and chemotherapy. They are used in hospitals as well as by patients at home.
The FDA is working on new guidelines that call on manufacturers to provide more detailed design and engineering information to FDA for new pumps. The FDA also wants manufacturers to try out the devices in settings where they are commonly used.
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