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BAXA ENTERAL SYRINGES
A simple solution to the risk of tubing misconnections
On April 3, 2006, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) issued a Sentinel Event Alert warning of the significant risk posed by “tubing and catheter misconnection errors.” In the Alert, JCAHO states that a standard luer syringe should ‘never’ be used to deliver oral medications or enteral feedings.

Recently, the Joint Commission released their draft National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) for 2008. Proposed Goal #9 includes language encouraging providers to take deliberate steps to prevent catheter and tubing misconnections. Devices that incorporate a ‘forcing function’ – physically preventing misconnection – provide the best means for patient safety and compliance.

Designed specifically for neonatal and pediatric enteral feeding applications, Baxa Exacta-Med® Enteral Syringes play a vital role in preventing wrong-route administration of non-IV fluid drugs, specifically enteral liquids. Their unique dispenser tip cannot connect to a luer needle hub or actuate a needleless IV system.

The first syringes designed only for enteral feeding, Exacta-Med Enteral Syringes are available individually packaged in 20, 35 and 60 mL sizes. Unique coloring and specific labeling for ‘Enteral Feeding Only’ make them the safer choice for enteral fluid drug delivery, particularly in pediatric and neonatal applications, where the majority of the oral and enteral doses are provided through a nasogastric tube.

The complementary CORFLO Anti-IV Enteral Feeding System promotes safe, non-luer connections for enteral feeding of neonatal and pediatric patients. The system’s non-luer connections are designed to accept only a dedicated enteral syringe tip.

Regulatory and industry experts have released statements on the importance of a dedicated Enteral Feeding System, especially in the neonatal and pediatric care environments.

This system should include the use of well-marked, non-luer syringes and feeding tubes that feature only non-luer connections (Baxa recommends the VIASYS MedSystems CORFLO® Anti-IV Enteral Feeding tubes, www.corfloanti-iv.com). For more information, visit www.baxa.com/helpthemgrow.


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