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No bacterial growth found in spiked intravenous fluids over an 8-hour period

Richard E Haas1, Edwin Beitz2, Amy Reed1

  • 1York College of Pennsylvania / WellSpan Health Nurse Anesthetist Program, York, PA.

American Journal of Infection Control
|January 9, 2017
PubMed

Insights

New guidelines require using intravenous (IV) fluid bags within 1 hour of spiking due to contamination fears. However, this study found no bacterial growth in Lactated Ringer's (LR) IV solutions up to 8 hours after spiking.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Clinical Pharmacy
  • Healthcare Administration

Background:

  • Joint Commission mandates rapid use of spiked intravenous (IV) fluid bags (within 1 hour) due to potential bacterial contamination.
  • This policy change raises clinical and economic concerns regarding IV fluid administration and waste.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the actual degree of bacterial growth in spiked IV fluid bags over an extended period.
  • To determine the safety and viability of using Lactated Ringer's (LR) IV solutions beyond the 1-hour post-spiking timeframe.

Main Methods:

  • Samples were collected from 80 bags of Lactated Ringer's (LR) IV solutions at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 hours after spiking.
  • Bacterial growth was assessed in all collected samples.

Main Results:

  • No bacterial growth was detected in any of the 80 sampled LR IV bags.
  • Bacterial proliferation was not supported in LR IV solutions even after 8 hours post-spiking.

Conclusions:

  • Lactated Ringer's (LR) IV bags demonstrate no support for bacterial growth for up to 8 hours after spiking.
  • Current 1-hour usage policy for spiked IV bags may be unnecessarily restrictive for LR solutions, warranting re-evaluation.
Keywords:
AnesthesiaBacterial growthInfection controlIntravenous fluids

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