Page 36
INFECTION PREVENTION
Melissa Cady, DO
How to Safely and Securely Tape an IV
The traditional crisscross taping pattern could be an infection risk.
Could the rolls of tape that your anesthesia providers use to secure IVs cause infection? They might if your nurses or doctors routinely split 1-inch surgical tape in half, then apply the strips below the hub of a newly inserted peripheral catheter and secure it in a crisscross
or chevron pattern. This common practice of using non-sterile tape rolls to secure peripheral catheters on multiple patients is an open invitation to cross-contamination, especially in immunocompromised patients and in those with long indwelling catheter times.
When I surveyed 200 hospital workers who start intravascular catheters, 67% reported that they initially used non-sterile tape on peripheral catheters, followed by sterile, transparent medical dressing over the catheter/tape apparatus. This raises a question: Why is non-
******************
DO THIS:
1. Start with a wide strip of sterile, transparent dressing.
2. Apply the second piece of tape parallel to the catheter and proximal to the Tegaderm.