StatLock Superiority Documented In New Study And Article
San Diego - Patients do better when caregivers use StatLock instead of tape or suture to secure IV catheters, according to a new article in this month's Journal of Infusion Nursing.
The StatLock catheter securement device protects patients from becoming "pincushions," by reducing repeated painful needlesticks and serious medical complications.
These problems are common when catheters are held in place by tape or suture, the traditional, habit-based methods of securing them.
In the new article, "Why Are We Stuck on Tape and Suture?", the authors -- Gregory Schears, M.D., a pediatric specialist, and Ann Marie Frey, R.N., a pediatric IV access specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) -- review seven published papers. Those papers encompass 429 patients and compare StatLock securement with tape or suture securement.
In all studies, the rate of patient complications in the StatLock group was lower than for the standard means of securement. Moreover, when StatLock was compared to suture, potentially lethal catheter-related bloodstream infections were reduced by up to 80% and accidental needlestick injuries were 100% eliminated.
The StatLock device for peripheral IV catheters is further validated in a separate, new study also appearing this month in the same journal. Peripheral IVs are the most common kind of catheters, accounting for 600 million such catheters sold annually worldwide.
The prospective clinical trial concluded that StatLock IV Ultra is superior to both nonsterile tape and a competing die-cut tape device. By dramatically extending the average catheter dwell-time, StatLock proved to be the only securement method that allowed the hospital to achieve the CDC-approved protocol, whereby IV catheters are left in place up to 96 hours instead of changed every 72 hours. This means substantial cost benefits for the hospital and fewer needlesticks for patients.
The study was conducted by infusion expert Bonnie Trottier Smith, R.N., CRNI, manager of the IV Therapy Department at Holmes Regional Medical Center, a 514-bed hospital in Melbourne, Fla.
Better for pediatric and other patients
"These studies demonstrate that using the catheter securement device helps to reduce catheter-related complications such as dislodgement and catheter-associated infection," said Dr. Schears, co-author of the first article in this month's Journal of Infusion Nursing. "This reduces the need for replacement catheters during the treatment course, which means fewer needlesticks for patients. To better protect patients, it's time for clinicians who are still stuck on using tape or suture to adopt better, clinically proven technology."
The benefits of the StatLock device extend beyond just holding the catheter in place, according to Frey and Schears, who write: "Many of the studies show evidence of reduced trauma to blood vessels, with lower rates of phlebitis and occlusion." Phlebitis is inflammation of a vein, while occlusion refers to blockage.
Not only does the use of tape and suture cause more medical complications, the older approaches are also more expensive, according to the article.
Schears and Frey conducted their research at CHOP and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Schears is now a pediatric intensivist and anesthesiologist practicing in Rochester, Minn.
Second study documents StatLock superiority
In a separate new study appearing this month in JIN, Smith documents a study comparing StatLock, tape and a competing tape-like device. The goal was to determine which one would best enable Health First to meet the CDC-allowed 96-hour-change protocol, which is an increase from the previous allowed protocol of 72 hours.
The study concluded that tape and the competing device were woefully inadequate to meet the CDC standard. Only 8 percent of tape-secured IVs did not have to be changed before reaching 96 hours, while for the competing device a similar number -- 9 percent of IV lines -- reached 96 hours.
With tape and the competing device, the remaining catheters had to be changed prior to 96 hours due to complications such as dislodgement, phlebitis and other factors, with the attendant cost increases in materials and nursing time.
StatLock, by comparison, enabled 52 percent of catheters to remain in place for the 96 hours, saving materials costs and reducing nursing overtime pay. Smith also reported an observed improvement in nursing morale.
In a related development, the new Standards of Practice, to be distributed this month by the Infusion Nursing Society, will for the first time include mechanical catheter stabilization devices such as StatLock. The new Policy and Procedure Manual, also to be published this month by INS, will teach proper usage of the StatLock device.
SOURCE: Venetec International