• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Study: Hospital IV poses strangulation risk for babies

Hospital Safety Connection, June 13, 2003

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Connection!

A Canadian study found that hospital workers should watch out for the potential strangulation dangers that IV tubes pose to young children, Reuters reports.

Such incidents are rare, but accidental self-strangulation of children with loose wires or cords can happen, according to the report published in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics. The research team was led by Daniel Garros, MD, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

The researchers report two separate cases of accidental strangulation involving two infants who became entangled in IV tubing during a hospital stay. Garros' team advises hospitals to consider encasing tubes and wires with a rigid plastic sleeve that helps prevent entanglement.

In cases where continuous IV therapy is not needed, but caregivers anticipate the use of an IV, the authors suggest that hospitals use a device that allows the tubes to be removed temporarily.

Hospitals may also increase staffing to monitor children more frequently or move children to a location where they can be observed more readily.

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Hospital Safety Connection!

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive