ECRI Surveys Hospitals to Learn About LAD Risks
The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000 made needleless I.V. system use compulsory in all health care settings to protect nurses from infections by bloodborne pathogens such as HIV or hepatitis B and C. Among needleless designs, a luer-activated device (LAD) “controls a valve that prevents the outflow of fluid through the connector until a standard Luer connector is inserted, allowing the valve to open and fluid to be inserted or withdrawn.”
Now ECRI (formerly the Emergency Care Research Institute) states that “LADs with positive fluid displacement (PFD), or positive pressure, designs have been introduced in an effort to avoid blood reflux into the catheter, which can lead to clot formation. But concerns have been raised that the use of PFD LADs may be associated with a rise in catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSIs). The likely mechanism for this rise in infections is not known.” ECRI is running a survey until November 2006 to fill that knowledge gap. It will keep the information sent by health care facilities confidential as well as their identities unless they grant permission to do otherwise.
August 14, 2006 Related topics: Medical Devices & Products, Hygiene & Cleanliness