Dostal Petr, Taubel Jorg, Lorch Ulrike, Aggarwal Vishal, York Thomas
Clinical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, GBR.
Cardiology, Richmond Pharmacology Ltd., London, GBR.
Cureus. 2023 Jul 9;15(7):e41601. doi: 10.7759/cureus.41601. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Auto-injectors are medical devices designed for the self-administration of injections by patients and for easy administration by healthcare professionals in emergency situations. Although they vary in design and application, auto-injectors are typically built around a spring-loaded syringe. Despite their widespread use in a variety of clinical settings, there have been limited attempts to assess their reliability. This systematic review investigates the reliability of auto-injectors, identifies common causes of failure, and summarizes the overall rate of malfunction. A systematic review of research published on the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases was performed in July 2022. The relevant studies were assessed for their methodological quality and risk of bias prior to extracting key study outcomes on auto-injector reliability. Finally, a summary rate covering all eligible studies was calculated. The search identified a total of 110 articles, of which ten were found to be suitable for inclusion. The risk of bias was low, and the methodological quality was high across the ten studies. Out of a total of 2,964 injections administered from an auto-injector, there were 12 device malfunctions, giving a summary rate of 0.40% (±0.23) auto-injector failures. The causes of malfunction varied in nature, with the majority of cases (58.3%) not being specified or not identified. This review has demonstrated that auto-injectors are reliable devices. Although further research on the nature of malfunctions is needed, the low rate of malfunctions supports training programs for healthcare professionals and patients on the optimum use and maintenance of auto-injectors. It provides a rationale for their continued development.
自动注射器是一种医疗设备，设计用于患者自行注射，也便于医护人员在紧急情况下给药。尽管自动注射器的设计和应用各不相同，但通常都是围绕弹簧式注射器构建的。尽管它们在各种临床环境中广泛使用，但评估其可靠性的尝试却很有限。本系统评价调查了自动注射器的可靠性，确定了常见的故障原因，并总结了总体故障发生率。2022年7月对PubMed和Cochrane图书馆数据库上发表的研究进行了系统评价。在提取关于自动注射器可靠性的关键研究结果之前，对相关研究的方法学质量和偏倚风险进行了评估。最后，计算了涵盖所有符合条件研究的汇总率。检索共识别出110篇文章，其中10篇被认为适合纳入。这10项研究的偏倚风险较低，方法学质量较高。在自动注射器进行的总共2964次注射中，有12次设备故障，自动注射器故障的汇总率为0.40%（±0.23）。故障原因性质各异，大多数情况（58.3%）未明确说明或未被识别。本评价表明自动注射器是可靠的设备。尽管需要对故障的性质进行进一步研究，但低故障率支持为医护人员和患者开展关于自动注射器最佳使用和维护的培训项目。这为它们的持续发展提供了理论依据。
