Medical Line Management in Critical Care Transportations: A Novel Securement Device.

Area of Science:

• Nursing practice
• Patient safety
• Medical device innovation

Background:

• Intrahospital transport (IHT) of critically ill patients necessitates maintaining life-sustaining medical lines.
• Tangled medical lines during IHT pose risks and create workflow inefficiencies for healthcare providers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel securement device's impact on medical line disconnections during IHT.
• To assess nurses' perceptions of transport efficiency with and without the securement device.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, descriptive, correlational study involving 142 patients in progressive and intensive care units.
• Measurement of accidental or manual medical line disconnections and nurses' perception of transport efficiency.
• Comparison between a group using a single-use securement device and a control group using standard practice.

Main Results:

• The intervention group experienced fewer manual disconnections compared to the control group.
• Nurses reported statistically significant improvements in transport efficiency when utilizing the securement device.
• Nurses expressed higher satisfaction rates with transport efficiency when the device was employed.

Conclusions:

• The single-use securement device effectively reduces medical line disconnections during IHT.
• Utilizing the device enhances nurses' satisfaction and perceived efficiency during patient transport.
• The device's benefits may extend to other healthcare settings with complex medical line management needs.