Catheter Connections study reveals dirty truth of IV poles - HB

Catheter Connections study reveals dirty truth ofIV polesBy Amanda Pedersen, Medical Device Daily Senior Staff WriterMarch 30, 2012IV catheter-related blood stream infections (CRBSI) are something hospitals and patients alikeare concerned about. These infections kill up to one in four of the 500,000 U.S. patients whosuffer from them a year, plus hospitals lose an average of $47,000 per infection treated. But mostpatients and clinicians never stop to consider the IV poles themselves to be a vector of infection.Catheter Connections (Salt Lake City) did a study recently of IV stands in active use,researchers swabbed stand components including the pole, hook, base, IV line and IV fluid bag.Culture results revealed contamination of all IV stands and five distinct species of bacteria. Also,if one IV stand component was contaminated, there was a 76.5% chance that at least one othercomponent would be contaminated with the same bacteria species.Catheter Connections says its DualCap system can help hospitals address this problem. TheDualCap is designed to be a sterile, single-use device containing two disinfecting caps – one forthe IV catheter needleless luer access valve (also known as the needleless injection site, port orvalve) and one for the male luer connector at the end of the IV tubing. According to thecompany, it is the only FDA cleared device for disinfection and protection of both the IVcatheter needleless luer access valve and the male luer connector at the end of the IV tubing.DualCap helps to prevent intraluminal contamination, the most common way IV connectorscontribute to infections in long-term catheter use, the company noted.“What it all boils down to is that [hospitals] do have a traditional method of disinfecting IVaccess valves . . .but that is absolutely insufficient,” Donald Solomon, PhD, president/COO ofCatheter Connections, told Medical Device Daily. “This method does not – and I repeat, doesnot– disinfect the connector that hangs down from the IV line and it’s amazing that it’s beentotally ignored. The male luer is not even looked at today.”Because contamination on the IV stand can be transferred among the components hanging on thestand, such as from the IV pole to IV fl uid line, all equipment hanging from the IV stand shouldbe considered potentially contaminated, unless measures are taken to protect the equipment andIV lines from contamination, according to the company.Any medical device hung from or touching an IV stand must be protected from contamination,especially if it will ultimately touch a patient’s skin. A medical device can safely be stored on anIV stand if the entire device is protected from contamination, such as by a sterile-barrier wrapperthat can be removed before the device is used, Catheter Connections noted.

Solomon said that during the study the company found at least two components on every IVstand that were bacteria contaminated. The poles, hooks, and bases had the highestcontamination rates at 80% each. The IV lines showed a 75% contamination rate and the bagswere contaminated 50% of the time.Recognizing what he calls the “glaring need” for hospitals to protect the male luer connector atthe end of the IV tubing, Catheter Connections developed the DualCap system to give nurses away to protect the male luer. In designing the system, Solomon said the company strived to keepit “super simple” to make it easy for nurses to use and reduce contamination related to the IVcatheter.“We know that DualCap helps prevent contamination, we’ve had reports from hospitals that arebeginning to use DualCap that it does help,” Solomon said. “We really want to make it easy forthem so that all they have to do is put one on the male luer and one on the female side of the IVline and their done. Boom.”Charity Williams, chief business officer and in house counsel at Catheter Connections, toldMDD that the idea for the DualCap system actually came from two infusion nurses. “They hadan idea that you needed to be able to address both sides of the IV tubing connection,” Williamssaid.