Are your enteral feeding practices in compliance with JCAHO? In April of 2006, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations issued a Sentinel Event on tubing misconnections and offered "...the following recommendations and strategies to health care organizations to reduce tubing misconnection errors: 1. Do not purchase non-intravenous equipment that is equipped with connectors that can physically mate with a female luer IV line connector. 2. Conduct acceptance testing (for performance, safety and usability) and, as appropriate, risk assessment (e.g., failure mode and effect analysis) on new tubing and catheter purchases to identify the potential for misconnections and take appropriate preventative measures. 3. Always trace a tube or catheter from the patient to the point of origin before connecting any device or infusion. 4. Recheck connections and trace all patient tubes and catheters to their sources upon the patient's arrival to a new setting or service as part of the hand-off process. Standardize this "line reconciliation" process. 5. Route tubes and catheters having different purposes in different standardized directions (e.g., IV lines routed toward the head, enteric lines toward the feet). This is especially important in the care of neonates. 6. Inform non-clinical staff, patients and their families that they must get help from clinical staff whenever there is a real or perceived need to connect or disconnect devices or infusions. 7. For certain high-risk catheters (e.g., epidural, intrathecal, arterial), label the catheter and do not use catheters that have injection ports. 8. Never use a standard luer syringe for oral medications or enteric feedings. 9. Emphasize the risk of tubing misconnections in orientation and training curricula. 10. Identify and manage conditions and practices that may contribute to health care worker fatigue, and take appropriate action." http://www.jointcommission.org/SentinelEvents/SentinelEventAlert/sea_36.htm Reduce accidental MISCONNECTIONS and DISCONNECTIONS to improve neonatal outcomes Utah Medical Products, Inc. 7043 South 300 West Midvale, Utah 84047 (801) 566-1200 Fax (801) 566-2062 www.utahmed.com www.order.utahmed.com Utah Medical Products Ltd. Athlone Business and Technology Park Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland +353-90-647-3932 CALL TOLL FREE 800-533-4984 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

"Recommended Features for Enteral Feeding Pumps for Use with Neonates and Infants... (Patents Pending) *Interlocking connectors to prevent accidental pull-apart." With Nutri-Lok, the secure locking connections are designed to ensure no accidental disconnects at either the catheter or the syringe. Nutri-Lok is a family of locking enteral feeding-only catheters, extension sets, and oral dispensing syringes that: Oral Dispensing Syringes * Will not mate with a female luer IV line connector * Ensures a secure connection that will not accidentally slip apart * Is compatible via slip fit with other...

"Recommended Features for Enteral Feeding Pumps for Use with Neonates and Infants... (Patents Pending) *Interlocking connectors to prevent accidental pull-apart." With Nutri-Lok, the secure locking connections are designed to ensure no accidental disconnects at either the catheter or the syringe. Nutri-Lok is a family of locking enteral feeding-only catheters, extension sets, and oral dispensing syringes that: Oral Dispensing Syringes * Will not mate with a female luer IV line connector * Ensures a secure connection that will not accidentally slip apart * Is compatible via slip fit with other...

Are your enteral feeding practices in compliance with JCAHO? In April of 2006, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations issued a Sentinel Event on tubing misconnections and offered "...the following recommendations and strategies to health care organizations to reduce tubing misconnection errors: 1. Do not purchase non-intravenous equipment that is equipped with connectors that can physically mate with a female luer IV line connector. 2. Conduct acceptance testing (for performance, safety and usability) and, as appropriate, risk assessment (e.g., failure mode and...