Feeding Time: A Buying Guide for Replacing Abbott Enteral Feeding Pumps

Last fall, Abbott Nutrition announced that it was discontinuing its enteral tube feeding device business in the United States. This decision applies to pumps, disposable sets, tubes, kits, and related device accessories and will become effective on April 30, 2013. Abbott Nutrition will continue to sell its nondevice enteral tube feeding products—that is, its nutrition products. This decision will not impact markets outside of the United States, including Canada.

For our members who need to transition away from Abbott pumps, Health Deviceshas put together this buying guide to help with selecting similar enteral feeding devices from other suppliers. You can find out which pumps are suitable replacements for which Abbott models, including how they’re similar and how they’re different.

We have categorized the available feeding pumps as either general-purpose or ambulatory. The main differences between the two types are that ambulatory models are more mobile and are orientation independent—that is, they can operate in any position. (Orientation independence allows the patient to walk, recline, or shift positions while maintaining pump operation.) Note that ambulatory pumps can also be used for nonambulatory purposes.

For patients who are either unable or unwilling to consume adequate nutrients, enteral feeding is a common way to deliver feeding solutions, including hydration, dietary supplementation, and total nutrition. The enteral route (that is, through the digestive tract) is generally preferred by clinicians over parenteral (IV) administration if the patient...