Accelerated Seldinger at AVA

The Accelerated Seldinger Technique reduces the danger of air embolism while providing fail-safe needlestick protection and faster access. Those were among the conclusions of research presented at the annual conference of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA).

A talk by Steve Bierman, M.D., described the results of a study led by Bonnie Smith, R.N., manager of the IV therapy department at a Florida medical center. Smith’s research compared the Accelerated Seldinger Technique (AST) to the Modified Seldinger Technique (MST), a widespread, though sometimes problematic approach to placing central catheters.

The research, which compared the device to MST under simulated conditions, produced three results:

• Substantially fewer “open-to-air” events. There were 50% fewer “open-to-air” events with AST than with MST, indicating a reduced risk of air embolism.
• Needlestick safety. The WAND’s needlestick safety feature appeared to be failure-proof.
• Much faster speed of access. The time to complete AST — 11.3 seconds — was more than three times faster than the time to complete MST (38.8 seconds).

Click here for the full story on Marketwatch.

Other stories