Forum topic

This product is one of many other brands that was introduced at AVA this year. Before I offer any comments, I want to let you know that I have worked for Excelsior Medical, the manufacturer of Swabcap. Specifically, I was part of a breakfast symposium sponsored by Excelsior at AVA this year. We know there are numerous causes of intraluminal contamination on all types of CVCs. It is my firm belief that hospitals will never reach a zero rate of CRBSI without paying attention to these causes. There have been numerous reports of increased rates of CRBSI attributed to the use of some types of needleless connectors. We have assessed numerous reasons such as failure of the nursing staff to adequately clean these surfaces, surface design that makes it very difficult to clean, and tortuous fluid pathways that prevent complete flushing of blood. We know that these connectors lie in contact with bed linens, clothing, and skin in between uses which increases the load of organisms on their connection surface. This concept of capping and protecting the connection surface between uses is one possible engineering control that will decrease the amount of organisms that can be pushed into the fluid pathway with each use. Work practice controls require behavorial changes on the part of people and this is very hard to achieve. Also, many questions still go unanswered about how long these connectors should be cleaned, by what technique and with what agent, and how long they should be allowed to dry. We can wait for research to produce these answers and then try to teach all nurses to perform by the results or we can protect these connectors in between uses. We definitely need clinical research on the outcomes with their use as none are available yet. So there is no evidence to support it yet. So it remains to be seen as to their effectiveness but I think these devices are worth consideration. Lynn

Has anyone tried  the SwabCap? Jud Hopkins-Hyde, Home Health Visiting Nurses