Archive April 2009
IV medication errors in critical care
Intravenous literature: Camiré, E., Moyen, E. and Stelfox, H.T. (2009) Medication errors in critical care: risk factors, prevention and disclosure. CMAJ. 180(9), p.936-943. Click here for the full text version. Key points Medication reconciliation may improve patient safety in the intensive care unit, and an updated list of medications should be maintained, including long-standing medications, the reasons for [...]
Vascular access team business case
Intravenous conference: Deborah Bolton, Clinical Nurse specialist IV Therapy, Brighton trust, is presenting at the IPS IV Conference in September 2009. Deborah writes “This year there has been a huge rise in the number of people contacting me requesting a copy of a business case that I completed in order to expand my IV Therapy Team [...]
Sonic flashlight in vascular access
Intravenous literature: Wang, D. et al (2009) Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Placement With the Sonic Flashlight. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. 14, p.651-656. Abstract: Objective. We describe a case series constituting the first clinical trial by intravenous (IV) team nurses using the sonic flashlight (SF) for ultrasound guidance of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement. Methods. Two [...]
Nexiva clinical trial
Intravenous literature: McNeill, E.E., Hines, N.L. and Phariss, R. (2009) A Clinical Trial of a New All-in-One Peripheral-Short Catheter. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access. 14(1), p.46-51. Abstract: The objectives of this survey were to: 1) understand current peripheral IV stabilization practices within our hospital and 2) evaluate the use of a new closed IV [...]
Tunneled Groshong® catheters
Intravenous literature: Pittiruti, M., Malerba, M., La Greca, A., Emoli, A., Nanni, L. and Cozza, T. (2009) A Retrospective Analysis of Our 15-year Experience with Bedside ‘Blind’ Positioning of Long-term Tunneled Groshong® Catheters, in the Pre-ultrasound Era. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access. 14(1), p.32-38. Abstract: Long-term tunneled Groshong catheters have been widely used in [...]
CVC and pacemaker risk
Intravenous literature: Pacana, C.L. and Durand, J-B. (2009) The Risk of Central Venous Catheter Placement Ipsilateral to the Permanent Pacemaker. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access. 14(1), p.28-30. Abstract: Purpose: The use of a central venous catheter is essential in the delivery of chemotherapy and other necessary intravenous treatments for oncology patients. This paper reviews [...]
Intravenous (IV) therapy competencies
Intravenous literature: Jensen, R. (2009) Teaching Students about Intravenous Therapy: Increased Competence and Confidence. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access. 14(1), p.21-26. Abstract: Aim/Purpose: Graduate nurses require competency in IV therapy. Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs offer elective IV education to provide additional information for interested students. After instituting such a course, students’ perceived [...]
Intravenous (IV) dressing care
Intravenous literature: Orsino, L., Bargelli, A., Cappucciati, L., Fanchin, G., Galati, G., Manzin, F., Marceca, F., Pignatelli, A., Peluffo, L., Vendemiati, S. and Verzè, A. (2009) Observational study of SorbaView® 2000, SorbaView® Ultimate and SecureView® Port AFZ Dressings used on Central Venous Catheters in Eleven Italian Oncology, Hematology and Pain Centers. Journal of the Association for [...]
Stephen Rowley on ANTT
Intravenous conference: Stephen Rowley, Lead Cancer Nurse UCLH and ANTT UK Lead is presenting at the IPS IV Conference in Harrogate. Stephen will be talking about implementing ANTT as an NHS Trust standard aseptic techniqe. Stephen explains “Since 2004, 76 of 175 Acute NHS Trusts in England have requested the ANTT implementation pack. A review of hospital [...]
Measuring hand hygiene adherence
Intravenous news: The Joint Commission is releasing “Measuring Hand Hygiene Adherence: Overcoming the Challenges,” to help health care organizations target their efforts in measuring hand hygiene performance. The monograph is designed to address “everything you ever wanted to know about hand hygiene measurement but were afraid to ask.” The aim of the monograph is to broaden [...]
Baxter buy stake in Sigma IV pump
Intravenous products: Forbes.com report ‘Baxter International Inc. said Wednesday it bought a stake in Sigma International and will market one of the company’s infusion pumps, paying $100 million upfront in the deal. Baxter will buy a 40 percent stake in Sigma of Medina, N.Y., and could pay an additional $130 million if the Spectrum pumps reach [...]
Closed IV system award
Intravenous news: Newsok.com report on $100K in prizes given in Oklahoma business contest. The innovation Award winner was Innovative Solutions of Oklahoma State University. Innovative Solutions proposes to commercialize a patent-pending closed design Intravenous IV and syringe create a solution to a long-standing problem of systems that expose health care workers to blood-borne illnesses and patients [...]
Intravenous history at IV conference
Intravenous conference: Dr Neil MacGillivray, Honorary Post Doctoral Fellow in Scottish History University of Edinburgh will present the inaugural Dr Thomas Latta Lecture for the Intravenous (IV) Therapy Programme at Infection Prevention 09. While focussing on the pioneering work of Dr Thomas Latta the paper will also examine the social, political and medical upheaval which [...]
Martin Kiernan interview
Intravenous news: HealthExec TV present a video interview with Martin Kiernan, IPS President. “The MRSA target has been hit and C difficile rates are falling but Martin Kiernan, President of the Infection Prevention Society, urges trusts not to see this as the end but as the minimum that should be achieved. In this interview, he advises on [...]
IV conference – call for papers
Intravenous conference: The Infection Prevention Society (IPS) are pleased to invite submission of abstracts for free paper and poster presentations at Infection Prevention 09. In particular, IV nurses should consider presenting at the IV day on the 22nd September 2009. Two free paper sessions are availaable. If you are interested in presenting a paper please click here [...]
Patient-to-patient HepB transmission
Intravenous literature: News-Medical.Net report “Patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) can occur as the result of routine clinical practices incorrectly thought to be risk-free. A review of 33 HBV outbreaks, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, has shown that the most frequent HBV transmission routes are administration of drugs using multi-vial compounds and [...]
Hepatitis B doctor suspended
Intravenous news: FoxNews.com report “State regulators on Friday temporarily suspended the medical license of a doctor who health officials suspect is linked to a hepatitis B outbreak. Nearly 3,000 of Dr. Parvez Dara’s patients have been warned to get tested after five cancer patients tested positive for the disease, which is transmitted through exposure to infected [...]
TimestripIV
Intravenous products: SmallCapNews.co.uk report “Smart label company Timestrip has agreed a partnership deal with hospital supplies business Brenmoor Ltd that will see it introduce a new product to Brenmoor’s range of printable patient wristbands that are used widely within the NHS. This is the second product in the newly launched TimestripMedical range. Timestrip and Brenmoor have developed a detachable clip [...]
Medical Device Safety Calendar 2009
Intravenous news: The FDA report ‘FDA has received many reports of patient injuries and deaths when different device delivery systems are mistakenly connected to each other. These errors are often facilitated by fittings called Luer connectors, which allow different systems to be easily, but erroneously, connected. The 2009 Medical Device Safety Calendar is one of FDA’s [...]
Heparin error update from FDA
Intravenous news: The FDA report “The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) points out that some multiple dose heparin vials have potentially confusing labels that could lead to dangerous overdoses. These vials, which contain 4 mL of heparin solution, are labeled “10,000 USP units/ 1 mL,” with the “10,000″ in larger print than the rest of [...]
Unintentional injection
Intravenous literature: News-Medical.net report that “Researchers find an increased rate of unintentional injection of epinephrine from auto-injectors for anaphylaxis (severe allergic reactions) and urge people who may need to administer the life-saving drug to themselves or others in an allergic emergency to receive regular coaching in its proper use. The report is published this month in [...]
Anaphylaxis after long-term IV
Intravenous literature: Chen, J., Song, X., Yang, P. and Wang J. (2009) Appearance of anaphylactic shock after long-term intravenous itraconazole treatment. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 43(3), p.537-41. Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To report a rare but severe adverse effect of intravenous itraconazole, anaphylactic shock with hypotension and hypoxemia, in a female patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). CASE SUMMARY: [...]
Neck ultrasound following PICC placement
Intravenous literature: Schweickert, W.D., Herlitz, J., Pohlman, A.S., Gehlbach, B.K., Hall, J.B. and Kress, J.P. (2009) A randomized, controlled trial evaluating postinsertion neck ultrasound in peripherally inserted central catheter procedures. Critical Care Medicine. 37(4), p.1217-21. Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Insertion of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) at the bedside may result in tip malposition. This study was [...]
Antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease
Intravenous literature: Cameron, D.J. (2009) Insufficient evidence to deny antibiotic treatment to chronic Lyme disease patients. Medical Hypotheses. 72(6), p.688-91. Abstract: BACKGROUND: The severity, length of illness, and cost of chronic Lyme disease (CLD) have been well described. A number of oral, intravenous, and intramuscular antibiotics have been prescribed for CLD. Surprisingly few antibiotic schedules [...]
Portable ultrasound
Intravenous literature: Johnson, M.A., McKenzie, L., Tussey, S., Jacobs, H. and Couch, C. (2009) Portable ultrasound: A cost-effective process improvement tool for PICC placement. Nursing Management. 40(1), p.47-50. Abstract not available More IV news at IVTEAM
Ultrasound-guided peripheral IV placement
Intravenous literature: Doniger, S.J., Ishimine, P., Fox, J.C. and Kanegaye, J.T. (2009) Randomized controlled trial of ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement versus traditional techniques in difficult-access pediatric patients. Pediatric Emergency Care. 25(3), p.154-9. Abstract: OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that the use of ultrasound guidance would improve the success rate of peripheral intravenous catheter placement in pediatric [...]
Implantable port complications
Intravenous literature: Dickinson, M.G., Scholvinck, E.H., Boonstra, A., Vonk-Noordegraaf, A., Snijder, R.J. and Berger, R.M. (2009) Low complication rates with totally implantable access port use in epoprostenol treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Journal of Heart & Lung Transplantation. 28(3), p.273-9. Abstract: BACKGROUND: Among patients with advanced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who are receiving epoprostenol treatment, complications [...]
Nurse charged with murder
Intravenous news: The New York Times report on a “A nurse has been charged with murdering five patients at a clinic in Lufkin, Tex., by injecting bleach into their veins while they were undergoing kidney dialysis, local authorities said Thursday. The arrest of the nurse, Kimberly Saenz, 35, this week appeared to resolve the mystery surrounding [...]
Shaving skin before IV
Intravenous news: Researchers have found that shaving an area of skin over the jugular vein before the insertion of a catheter is the best course to reduce the risk of infection. Intravenous catheters are commonly used to administer ongoing fluid therapy, give medications and take blood samples. However, they do carry risks, in particular thrombosis and infection. [...]
