WEIGHT-BASED ACCURACY OF PARENTERAL NUTRIENT SOLUTIONS PREPARED WITH AN AUTOMATED COMPOUNDER

The accuracy of an automated compounder in preparing parenteral nutrie nt solutions was evaluated. A total of 480 1-, 2-, and 3-L solutions r epresenting 68 different formulations, some containing electrolytes, w ere prepared with two Automix devices. The actual weight of the final product was compared with the calculated weight of all ingredients plu s the weight of the empty final container. The weight of each ingredie nt was calculated by multiplying the specific gravity by the volume. A solution was considered acceptable if it weighed 95% to 105% of the e stimated weight. Only two bags were outside the acceptable range. The mean weight as a percentage of estimated weight for all bags was 100.0 7 +/- 1.26%. Of the 480 nutrient solutions prepared by an automated co mpounder, 478 were within 5% of their expected final weight.