Featured Articles
Fluid flow accuracy of syringe drivers
Gavin Hughes, Joanna Ford, Pete Phillips
Jan 2016
Introduction
Syringe drivers are used for controlled administration of fairly small quantities of drugs. They can be set at a particular flow rate or controlled by the patient/healthcare professional in the case of analgesia. This article focuses on the accuracy of flow from syringe drivers that are set at a particular flow rate. Manufacturers often make claims regarding the flow rate accuracy of their products but they do not always stand up to the scrutiny of laboratory tests.
Factors that could potentially affect the accuracy of flow rate in syringe drivers could include the temperature of the medication (increased temperatures decrease the viscosity of fluids) (Capes et al., 1997) or the height of the syringe driver compared with the patient (Donald et al., 2007).
This paper sets out to investigate flow patterns and accuracy using one model of syringe driver over the course of an administration period.
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Speciality needles - an update
Joanna Ford and Pete Phillips
22 June 2015
Introduction
Historically, spinal needles have been used for a wide range of non-spinal procedures where regular hypodermic needles are not long enough. However, changes to the connectors on spinal needles in the near future mean that this will no longer be possible. This paper aims to explain the background and rationale for the proposed changes as well as presenting the current options for health care professionals who must find alternatives to spinal needles for non-spinal procedures.
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Peri-operative bodywarming paper published in Journal of Anaesthesia
A review entitled 'Peri-operative warming devices : performances and clinical application' has been published in collaboration with Mark Harper and John Martin. Click on the citation below to view the abstract.
John M, Ford J and Harper M. Anaesthesia. 2014 :69;623-38
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Single-Use Screws and Plates
Joanna Ford (R&D Officer, SMTL), Tomos Rodrigues (R&D Officer, SMTL) & Pete Phillips (Technical Director, SMTL)
Small orthopaedic implants such as screws and plates that are prepared for, but not used for surgery, are often reprocessed many times. This has led to concerns about the impact of multiple episodes of reprocessing on implant quality. In addition, there are concerns over the regulatory implications of reprocessing implants, traceability of individual implants and contamination issues. This document discusses issues relating to reprocessed implants and compares them to pre-packaged, pre-sterilised single-use implants by addressing issues such as implant quality, regulatory compliance, compatibility of implants with instrumentation, cost, storage, training, management and supply. NHS Scotland moved to pre-packaged, pre-sterilised single-use implants in 2008 and feedback concerning their experience of this transition has been included in the updated report (see link below). The Scottish experience has been generally positive.
There appear to be advantages in moving to pre-packaged single-use plates and screws, but there may be some logistical problems in adopting such a policy. These are discussed in the updated report (see link below). On balance there are genuine clinical and risk-management benefits in moving to single-use pre-packaged small implants in the Welsh NHS.
The updated version of a document that was first published online in 2010 can be found here:
Single-use screws and plates - 2023 update
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