Bright Ideas: Keep Caps Clean
“I
use SwabCap™ and I LOVE them! They protect the hub of my daughter’s catheter
from ostomy leaks, G-J tube leaks, and the general yuckiness that may occur from
being a kid. I still scrub the end of the line with alcohol as per my usual
standards, however it is comforting to know that the hub has been sitting in
alcohol if someone else has to access the line.”
—Jodee Reid, jodee1@zoominternet.net
Marianne Opilla, RN, CNSC, discussed the benefits of the SwabCap and two other
products—Curos® Port Protector and Site-Scrub™—at the Oley Southwest Regional
Conference. Excelsior Medical describes the SwabCap as “a simple twist-on device
that disinfects swab-able luer access valves prior to catheter line access. The
FDA-cleared device passively disinfects the valve top and threads while
providing a physical barrier to contamination for up to 96 hours” (www.excelsiormedical.com;
800-487-4276).
The Curos
Port Protector is similar to the SwabCap. It is described by the manufacturer (Ivera
Medical Corp.) as “a simple… disposable medical device that guards against
infection by keeping luer-activated access ports always protected and
clean….Simply peel off the seal and twist Curos® Port Protector disinfection cap
over the top of a luer-activated access port. Inside this…port protector is a
70% IPA (isopropyl alcohol) saturated sponge-like foam” (www.iveramed.com,
888-861-8228).
The third product, Site-Scrub, is described by Bard Access as an “IPA device…designed to clean the intraluminal (female luers) and extraluminal surfaces of catheter hubs, injection ports, caps and stopcocks through a patent-pending friction scrub design” (www.bardaccess.com, 800-545-0890).
LifelineLetter, Nov/Dec 2010