Do you still use "needled" drip sets prehospital?

[nsmedic393]

Proving yet again you all are behind the times up there!

Quite the generalised statement... hopefully it was a joke. We recently switched to an enitrely needleless system including blunts for drawing up medications. The only drugs we have to draw up though are morphine, valium, versed and epi 1:1000. Everything elser is in needleless preloads including adenosine.

[northernmedic]

Basically what NSmedic said. About 96% of our stuff is needless. Maybe a half dozen drugs still requiring needles.

[Dustdevil]

Well, we use needle injection ports.

But most of our pre-fill meds come in needle-less syringes, so we have to put needles on them to give the drug.

I prefer needle injection ports, but I'm old skool like that.

[Ridryder 911]

Unfortunately, we still carry the needle type tubing but have needleless syringes and med's.... "makes sense huh" .. something to do with cost 20 cents more..... It took me some time to get used to needless systems being from old school, but the local hospital has some really good ones with a nice "lure lock" type device and many ports...

So for now, I usually have saline locks (which has the lure lock needless port) and push most of med's through it... If I have to hang a bag, then I will have to use a needle.

R/r 911

[Asysin2leads]

We use needle port systems and despite doing some med administrations in pretty rough situations, I have yet to have needle stick. I think needleless systems are the way to go, but at the same time, I think we need to have some professional standards of not being a clutzy idiot.

[Dustdevil]

I've never stuck myself in the back of the ambo, but I have stuck a few firemen who were in the way.

Oooops!

True story!

[RomeViking09]

Our needless system includes these orange "needles" that are plastic and rounded for drawing up drugs, we also have 2 port J-Loops for adenosine (drug proximal port, flush distal port). Before the J-loops never saw 6 of adenosine do anything always had to got to 12, I have seen 3 convert (2 did require the 12 dose but after about 15 min) with 6 since the switch.

My two cents is if you can get a good needless system and all the things that go with them (like the silly draw needles) it is much safer. We also removed ampules for our 1:1,000 epi and went with 10mL multi-dose vials.

[JTpaintball70]

Seriously? A three year old thread has been necro'd.

Although to answer, most services here still use either all needled or combo lines

[HERBIE1]

Our "norm" is supposed to be needless and preloads whenever possible, but every hospital has their own protocols. Needless tubing is pretty universal, but not every medication is compatible. Many will have a needle which can be unscrewed, but some is in vials, and some simply is not offered in needleless(luer-lock) form, which means you need to have adapters to accomodate. Pain in the arse- yep, and you never know when a medication may have only a needle- especially when there are multiple manufacturers of the same drug. I remember a recent cardiac arrest where we gave multiple epinephrines- and after someone opened a box, realized it had only a long cardiac needle. Instead of messing around and attaching an adapter, we simply grabbed another box with a luer lock.

Some hospitals even hand out multi-use vials, which is generally useless for prehospital. About the only things we use multi-use vials for are things like morphine, valium, or other drugs that we routinely give serial doses for. Many piggy back drip meds still use needles, especially with some of the secondary tubing set ups, but we have rare occasion to use them- Dopamine and Lidocaine immediately come to mind.

Edited February 1, 2010 by HERBIE1

[Richard B the EMT]

True story!

Start a new string and tell us, "Pappy!"