The diagnosis of intrathecal infusion pump system failure

Abstract

Ongoing informed clinical management and rational application of various tests assist in the diagnosis of intrathecal infusion pump system failure. The goal is to rapidly identify the cause of the failure with the least risk to the patient at a reasonable cost-to-benefit ratio. We offer a review of our approach to the patient with suspected intrathecal pump failure and a brief description of the most often used diagnostic tests.