USP General Chapter <800> and Its Impact on Nursing Practice.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Infusion Nurses Society (INS) and the Journal of Infusion Nursing (JIN) editors are pleased to debut Pharmacology Report, a recurring bimonthly column authored by Susan Kleppin, RPh, FASHP. Susan is an accomplished pharmacist in health-system pharmacy with significant experience in infusion therapy. Her column will discuss relevant pharmacology topics, including medications new to market, safe handling for hazardous drugs, and managing drug shortages. INS and JIN extend Susan a warm welcome.

Does low-dose heparin maintain central venous access device patency?: a comparison of heparin versus saline during a period of heparin shortage.

BACKGROUND: A common problem that complicates use of central venous access devices (CVADs) is occlusion by thrombosis. Alteplase, a recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, is used to restore line patency when thrombosis occurs. Heparin flush is commonly used to prevent this complication, but the effectiveness of this practice is unclear. A recent heparin shortage allowed examination of heparin effectiveness in reducing CVAD thrombosis. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed by querying a pharmacy database for alteplase use for CVAD thrombosis in adult patients during periods when heparin flushes (10 units/mL) were used and when saline flushes were used instead because of a nationwide heparin shortage. The number of patients receiving alteplase, the number of doses administered, and the total amount of alteplase used were compared over 1-month intervals of heparin flush use and 1-month intervals of saline flush use. Patient days and critical care patient days were compared between these time intervals. Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line placements and replacements between time periods of heparin and saline flush were also compared. RESULTS: Significant increases in the number of patients receiving alteplase (P = .04), the number of alteplase doses administered (P = .04), and total dose of alteplase used (P = .05) occurred during the heparin shortage. No significant differences in patient population were observed. The percentage of PICC line replacements also increased significantly (P < .05) when heparin was not available. CONCLUSIONS: Heparin flush (10 units/mL) decreases thrombotic occlusions of CVADs, resulting in decreased alteplase use and fewer PICC line replacements.

Using failure mode and effects analysis to plan implementation of smart i.v. pump technology.

PURPOSE: Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was used to evaluate a smart i.v. pump as it was implemented into a redesigned medication-use process. SUMMARY: A multidisciplinary team conducted a FMEA to guide the implementation of a smart i.v. pump that was designed to prevent pump programming errors. The smart i.v. pump was equipped with a dose-error reduction system that included a pre-defined drug library in which dosage limits were set for each medication. Monitoring for potential failures and errors occurred for three months postimplementation of FMEA. Specific measures were used to determine the success of the actions that were implemented as a result of the FMEA. The FMEA process at the hospital identified key failure modes in the medication process with the use of the old and new pumps, and actions were taken to avoid errors and adverse events. I.V. pump software and hardware design changes were also recommended. Thirteen of the 18 failure modes reported in practice after pump implementation had been identified by the team. A beneficial outcome of FMEA was the development of a multidisciplinary team that provided the infrastructure for safe technology implementation and effective event investigation after implementation. With the continual updating of i.v. pump software and hardware after implementation, FMEA can be an important starting place for safe technology choice and implementation and can produce site experts to follow technology and process changes over time. CONCLUSION: FMEA was useful in identifying potential problems in the medication-use process with the implementation of new smart i.v. pumps. Monitoring for system failures and errors after implementation remains necessary.