NHS Improvement has issued a patient safety alert warning that cannulas and lines should either be flushed or removed post-procedure.
A directive alert has been issued on the need to confirm intravenous (IV) lines and cannulae have been effectively flushed or removed at the end of the procedure as they can contain residual drugs.
NHS improvement warns that if the IV lines and cannulae are not removed or effectively flushed residual anaesthetic and sedative drugs can later be inadvertently introduced into the patient’s circulation causing muscle paralysis, unconsciousness and respiratory and cardiac arrest.
They go on to say that if the IV lines and cannulae are not removed or effectively flushed residual anaesthetic and sedative drugs can later be inadvertently introduced into the patient’s circulation causing muscle paralysis, unconsciousness and respiratory and cardiac arrest.
You can read the patient safety alert on the NHS Improvement website.
A previous safety alert, ‘Residual anaesthetic drugs in cannulae and intravenous lines’, was issued in April 2014.