Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Various different forms of catheters and drain tubes are convent
tonally inserted into a patient's body and must remain therein for index
terminant lengths of time. However, movement of a patient within a bed and
disturbance of the patient by nurses or other hospital personnel may cause
a catheter or drain tube to be shifted longitudinally relative to the site
through which the catheter or tube enters the patient's body. Although a
catheter or drain tube may be taped in position, it is sometimes necessary
to temporarily remove and subsequently reinstall a catheter or drain tube.
This of course would result in the reinstalled catheter or drain tube having
to be retaped in position and the retaping as well as the initial taping
of a catheter or drain tube in place can cause considerable discomfort to
the patient. Accordingly, a need exists for structure by which a catheter
or drain tube may be frictionally retained in position against longitudinal
displacement relative to the associated exit site and wherein that structure
may be anchored to a patient adjacent the exit site in a manner which does
not cause skin discomfort.
Examples of various different forms of positioners or anchor struck
lures including some of the general structural and operational features of
the instant invention are disclosed in So patent ooze. 1,998,225, 2,133,130,
20 2,898,917, 3,893,446 and 4,040,428. However, these previously known devices
are either not as efficient as or are more cumbersome, c pled and more
expensive than the instant invention.
The catheter and drain tube retainer of the instant invention
comprises a simple annular peripheral frame body of circular radial cross
section and of relatively great thickness and including pressure sensitive
adhesive on one side thereof whereby the frame body may be adhesively secured
to the outer surface of a patient's skin surrounding the exit site of a
catheter or drain tube. The frame body includes a relatively thin membrane
extending there across constructed of resilient shape retentive material and
the membrane includes a central opening formed therein and radial slots
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extending outwardly from the opening. Those portions of the membrane defined
between adjacent slots form generally triangular tongue portions whose free
ends surround the central opening in the membrane. A catheter or drain tube
of an outside diameter greater than the diameter of the opening may project
through the latter in a manner laterally deflecting the free ends of the
tongue portions of the membrane and those laterally directed tongue portions
of the membrane are laterally deflected by the catheter or drain tube and
frictionally grip the latter to resist longitudinal displacement of the
catheter or drain tube.
The main object of this invention is to provide a catheter and
drain tube positioner which may be used in conjunction with a catheter or
drain tube at an exit site on a patient's skin to prevent longitudinal disk
placement of the catheter or drain tube through the exit site.
Another object of this invention is to provide a retainer or post-
toner in accordance with the preceding object and constructed in a manner
whereby it may be used on numerous different portions of a patient's body.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a retainer
or positioner which may be secured in position on a patient's body about
the exit site of a catheter or drain tube through the utilization of pros-
sure sensitive adhesive specifically designed not to cause skin irritation.
Another very important object of this invention is to provide a
positioner or retainer which may be used in conjunction with catheters and
drain tubes of different diameters.
A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated
herein is to provide a catheter or drain tube retainer in accordance with
the preceding objects and which will conform to conventional forms of menu-
lecture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device
that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free
in operation.
Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the
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retainer of the instant invention in an operative association with a bladder
catheter of a male patient;
Figure 2 it a face view of the retainer with the protective sheet
overlying the pressure sensitive adhesive partially removed;
Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially upon the
plane indicated by the section line 3--3 of Figure 2; and
Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the manner in
which the positioner may be used in conjunction with a balloon type catheter
or drain extending through a patient's abdominal wall.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral 10
generally designates a male body including a bladder 12 and a male organ 14
through which the urethra 16 extends into the bladder 12. A balloon type
catheter is referred to in general by the reference numeral 18 and extends
through the urethra 16 and has its balloon portion 20 inflated within the
bladder 12.
The body or tube of the urethra 18 exits from the body through the
free end of the organ 14 and is held against longitudinal shifting relative
to the exit site by the retainer or positioner of the instant invention
referred to in general by the reference numeral 22.
The retainer or positioner 22 defines a body constructed of shape
retentive and resilient material and including a peripheral frame 24 extending
about the body. In addition, the body also includes a membrane 26 extending
there across.
The peripheral frame 24 is circular in plan and also circular in
radial cross section. The frame 24 is relatively axially thick while the
membrane 26 is relatively thin in comparison to the axial thickness of the
frame 24. Further, the membrane 26 is disposed on the medial plane of the
frame 24 spaced equally inwardly from the axial ends of the frame 24.
The central portion of the membrane 26 includes an opening 26
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formed there through and the membrane 26 includes radial slots 30 formed
therein extending outwardly from the opening 28 and defining generally in-
angular tongue portions 32 of the membrane 26 between adjacent pairs of
slots 30. Inasmuch as the tongue portions 32 are constructed of shape WriteNow-
live and resilient material, they may be laterally deflected outwardly of
the medial plane of the membrane 26.
The catheter extends through the opening 28 and it of a diameter
greater than the diameter of the opening 28 and thus laterally deflects the
inner end portions of the tongue portions 32 in the manner illustrated in
Figure 1 of the drawings whereby the free inner ends of the tongue portions
32 frictionally grip the catheter 18 for frictionally retaining the latter
in position relative to the organ 14 against longitudinal displacement rota-
live thereto.
One axial end face of the frame 24 includes peripherally spaced
amounts of pressure sunsuit *e adhesive 34 thereon and the adhesive equipped
axial end of the frame 24 is provided with a flexible adhesive protective
sheet 36 which may be readily peeled from engagement with the adhesive 34
when it it desired to use the positioner or retainer 22. The protective
sheet 36 is first removed and the catheter 18 has one end thereof inserted
through the opening 28. Thereafter, the catheter may be inserted to the
position illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings and the positioner 22 may
thereafter be slid longitudinally of the outer free end of the catheter 18
toward a position with the adhesive equipped axial end of the positioner 22
engaging the outer skin portions of the organ 14 surrounding the exit site
of the catheter 18. In this manner, the positioner 22 is adhesively secured
in position relative to the free end of the organ 14 and frictionally grips
the catheter 18 in order to resist longitudinal displacement of the catheter
18 relative to the exit site.
With attention now invited more specifically to Figure 4 of the
drawings, a second positioner 22 is illustrated in operative association
with a drain tube 40 which ha been inserted through the abdominal skin layer
42 and the abdominal wall 44 and into the abdominal cavity 46. The drain
tube 40 includes an inflatable balloon portion 48 on the inner end thereof
for preventing outward shifting of the drain tube 40 and the tube 40 extends
through the positioner 22 while the positioner 22 is adhesively attached to
the outer skin layer 42. Thus, the drain tube 40 is frictionally held in
position against longitudinal displacement through the exit site.
The adhesive 34 in some situations could be replaced by other
attaching means such as a Velcro or other similar material ring attached
to the frame 24. In such case, a more or less semi-permanent ring of a
matching Velcro panel could be adhesively secured to the exterior skin sun-
face about the exit site. Such a more permanent anchoring for the frame 24
would be used when a drain or catheter is to be used over extended periods
of time.
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