Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A MEDICATION CLIP
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices used in the medical field and in
particular to devices for preventing or reducing medication errors such as
Preventable
Adverse Drug Reaction Events (ADE's).
Background of the Invention
Medication errors are frequent events in hospitals and in emergency care
situations and often have tragic consequences. Such errors include
administration of the
wrong drug, drug overdoses, and overlooked drug interactions and allergies.
They occur
io for many reasons, including illegible handwritten prescriptions and decimal
point errors.
According to a 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, medication errors
alone
contribute to 7,000 deaths annually.
Medication errors result in approximately 250,000 non-fatal injuries each year
(Harvard Medical Practice Study). More than one million serious medication
errors occur
every year in U.S. hospitals.
Preventable injuries caused by bad reactions to drugs increased hospital costs
by
US$4,700 per admission (Journal of the American Medical Association) in the
United
States and more than NZ$2,000 in New Zealand. Furthermore, this figure
excludes other
iinportant costs of medication errors, such as malpractice insurance premiums
and losses
in worker productivity.
Computer Information systems have been developed that claim to reduce
medication errors significantly. Computer physician order entry (CPOE)
systeins are
electronic prescribing systems that intercept errors when they most commonly
occur - at
- the time medications are ordered. With CPOE, physicians enter orders into a
computer
rather than on paper. Orders are integrated witli patient information,
including laboratory
and prescription data. The order is then automatically checked for potential
errors or
problems.
A 1998 study showed a 55 percent decrease in serious medication errors, and a
1999 study showed an 86 percent decrease in serious medication errors through
implementation of an automated drug-entry system (JAMA).
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Fewer than 2 percent of U.S. hospitals have computer physician order entry
(CPOE), an electronic prescribing system that intercepts errors, and require
its use by
physicians (AMIA).
However, the CPOE systems do not prevent ADE's which are caused by poor
identification of syringes in which medication has already been drawn-up.
Prepared
dosages, already drawn up into syringes are used often in medical emergency
situations
and also in timetabled events such as surgery, where trays of medication
needed over the
course of the surgery are prepared before the surgery begins and are laid out
on trays.
Of all medications, intravenous medications are one of the most difficult
medications to identify once they have been drawn up into a syringe. Almost
all
intravenous medications appear as a clear liquid when viewed through a syringe
sidewall
with virtually no way of distinguishing between medications once drawn up.
One available prior art device is described in United States Patent
Application
No. 20020083564. This clip consists of a single piece of durable yet flexible
molded
plastic with two semicircular c-shaped rings placed side by side a short
distance apart.
Their respective openings face upward with the bases attached by an adjoining
bridge. A
syringe and vial can be easily placed in a beginning position by placing them
parallel to
the openings of the c-shaped rings. When gentle pressure is applied, the rings
flex
slightly outward around the circumference of the syringe or vial. The vial or
syringe are
in the final position when they have been pressed into the base of both c-
shaped rings
with the curved portions of the rings and endpoints holding them firmly into
place.
The device described in that document has not found widespread use in the
medical profession. Indeed, other methods used for drug syringe identification
are hand
written adhesive labels using adhesive tape to fasten the ampoule to the body
portion of
the syringe. The Queensland Ambulance Service Clinical Practice Manual
instructs its
members to use adhesive tape to attach the used glass ampoule to the syringe.
Both of these methods have the cornmon disadvantage that the measurement
indicators (dose markers) in the syringe body are often obscured, affecting
the user's
ability to read the dosage that has been drawn up into the prepared syringe.
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The other main disadvantage with using adhesive tape to attach a use ampoule
to
the syringe body portion is that the broken ampoule pose a risk of sharps
injury to a user
not taking absolute care when handling the syringe with the broken ampoule
attached.
Object of the Invention
It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially
ameliorate at
least one of the above disadvantages.
Summary of the Invention
There is disclosed herein a clip to secure a syringe to a medication ampoule,
said
ampoule having a neck surrounding a neck passage, said clip including:
io a base;
an ampoule engaging portion projecting from the base, said ampoule engaging
portion being a projection to be received within said passage and resiliently
compressed
by said neck so as to be resiliently urged into engagement with the neck to
attach the
ampoule to the clip; and
a syringe engaging portion to releasably attach the syringe to the clip.
Preferably, said syringe engaging portion is a recess in said base witliin
which a
portion of the syringe is to be located so as to be releasably retained
therein.
Preferably, said recess is located between a pair of resilient arms, the arms
being
resiliently urged apart to provide for location of the syringe in the recess.
Preferably, said recess is open in a direction away from said projection.
Preferably, said base has a first end adjacent which said projection is
located, and
a second end spaced from said first end, said second end having said recess.
Preferably, said base has a longitudinal axis, with said projection and recess
being located on said longitudinal axis.
Preferably, said base has a longitudinal axis and said recess faces
perpendicularly
away from said longitudinal axis.
Preferably, said projection has a plurality of barbs to aid the projection to
securely but releasably engage the neck.
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Preferably, said projection is bifurcated longitudinally so as to provide two
elongated arms that are resiliently deformed to move toward each other by
engagement
witli the neck.
Preferably, said projection is provided by a plurality of elongated arms that
are
resiliently urged together by the neck.
Preferably, said syringe engaging portion is an arcuate socket within which a
portion of the syringe is to be located.
Preferably, said socket is resiliently deformed by the syringe so as to be
urged
into contact with the syringe to aid in retaining the syringe releasably
attached to the clip.
Preferably, said projection is a first projection, and said clip includes at
least one
further ampoule engaging projection.
Preferably, said recess is located between two projections of the clip.
Preferably, said clip includes a plurality of arms that engage externally of
the
neck.
Preferably, said arms are resiliently deformed when engaged with the neck so
as
to be urged into contact therewith to aid in releasably attaching the ampoule
to the clip.
Preferably, said base is generally planar, and said projection extends
generally
normal to said base.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of
example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of a syringe and ampoule releasably
attached by a clip;
Figure 2 is a schematic top plan view of the syringe, ampoule and clip of
Figure
1;
Figure 3 is a schematic end elevation of the syringe, ampoule and clip of
Figure
1;
Figure 4 is a schematic end elevation of the syringe, ampoule and clip of
Figure
1 with the syringe removed from the clip;
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Figure 5 is a schematic parts exploded isometric view of the syringe, ampoule
and clip of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a schematic parts exploded isometric view of a modification of the
clip of Figure 1 together with a syringe and two ampoules; and
5 Figures 7 to 12 are schematic isometric views of modifications of the clip
of
Figure 1.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
In the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted a clip 10 that is
used to secure an ampoule 13 to a syringe 11. The syringe 11 includes a hollow
io cylindrical body 15 terminating at its forward end with a tip 16. The tip
16 frictionally
engages the needle base 20 so that the needle 20 is secured thereto. A plunger
14 is
slidably located in the body 15 and is movable relative thereto to draw liquid
into the
body 15 and to expel liquid through the needle 12. Typically in use, the
syringe 11 would
be operated to withdraw liquid from within the ampoule 11, and then inject the
liquid.
is Typically the clip 10 would be discarded.
The a.inpoule 13 may be formed of glass or plastics and would include a neck
21
surrounding a neck opening 22 through which liquid passes witll respect to the
interior of
the ampoule 13. Extending inwardly from the opening 22 through the neck 21 is
a neck
passage.
20 Typically the clip 10 is disposable and is integrally formed from molded
plastics
material, and more particularly from resiliently plastics material.
The clip 10 includes a base 18 that is elongated so as to have a longitudinal
axis
23. The base 18 has opposite end portions 24 and 25, with the end portion 25
being
provided with an ampoule engaging portion 19. In this embodiment the portion
19 is a
25 frusto-conical projection that tapers from the base 18 to its end extremity
26. The portion
19 has a longitudinal axis 27 that is generally normal to the axis 23 so that
the portion 19
extends generally normal to the base 18. In that regard the base 18 is
generally planar in
construction.
In operation of the clip 10, the portion 19 is inserted in'the neck passage of
the
30 ampoule 13 so that the portion 19 is compressed by the neck 21 to thereby
securely and
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preferably frictionally engage the internal surfaces of the neck 21 to
releasably attach the
ampoule 13 to the clip 10. By being resiliently compressed the portion 19 is
urged into
engagement with the neck 21.
The end portion 25 is provided with a recess 17 within which the tip 16 of the
syringe 11 is received. The recess 17 is located between a pair of resilient
arms 28 that
are resiliently deflected apart to enable insertion of the tip 18 in the
recess 17. Thereafter
the arms 18 retain the tip 16 releasably secured in the recess 17 so that the
syringe 11 is
releasably attached to the clip 10. The arins 17 by being resiliently deformed
are urged
into engagement with the syringe 11.
io Preferably the recess 17 openly projects away from the portion 19.
Preferably the extreinity of each arm 28 is provided with a lip or projection
that
aids in retaining the tip 16 in the recess 17.
In the embodiment of Figure 6, the clip 10 is provided with a pair of ampoule
engaging portions 19 to aid in releasably attaching two ampoules 13 to the
syringe 11. In
this einbodiinent, the portions 19 are located at opposite end portions 24 of
the base 18,
with the recess 17 located therebetween. In this embodiment, the recess 17
extends away
from the longitudinal axis 23. Also in this embodiment, the recess 17 has a
tapered
entrance passage 29.
In the embodiment of Figure 7, the portion 19 although frusto-conical in
overall
configuration is bifurcated so as to have a central longitudinal slot 30
located between a
pair of arms 31. The arms 31 are joined at the extremity 26. In the embodiment
of Figure
8, the arms 31 are not joined at the extremity 26. More particularly in use of
the clip 10
of Figure 8, the arms 31 are resiliently deflected together when inserted in
the neck 21.
In the embodiment of Figure 9, a plurality of resilient arms 32 are provided
and
extend from the base 18. The arms 32 converge away from the base 18 and
terminate
witli ramp portions 33 that diverge and aid the arms 32 in engaging the
external surfaces
of an ampoule. For example, the ampoule may have a lip adjacent the neck
thereof so
that the arms 32 aid in retaining the ampoule 13 releasably attached to the
clip 10.
In the embodiment of Figure 10, the portion 19 includes a plurality of
resilient
arms 34 that are resiliently deformed to move together when inserted in the
neck 21. This
embodiment also has the arms 32.
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In Figure 11, a modification of the clip 10 of Figure 7 is illustrated. In
this
embodiment, the clip 10 has a socket 35 having a longitudinal axis 36
generally normal to
the longitudinal axis 23. The socket 35 is generally arcuate in transverse
cross-section
and has a side wall 37 that extends generally parallel to the axis 36. The
socket 35 is
shaped to receive the body 15 and is resiliently urged into contact with the
body 15 to aid
in releasably attaching the syringe 11 to the clip 10.
In the embodiment of Figure 12, the clip of Figure 9 is modified to include
the
socket 35 of Figure 11.
A preferred procedure for the use of the above medication clip 10 according
may
io be as follows:
1. Select appropriate size syringe 11. (lml, 2ml, 5m1, 10m1, 20ml, 50m1).
2. Select and attach drawing up needle 12/syringe cannula to syringe 11.
3: Apply medication clip 10 to base of tip 16 of syringe 11.
4. Select Drug ampoule/s or vial/s.
5. Draw drug and/or mixing solution in to syringe 11 and connect
ampoule/s and vial/s directly onto medication clip 10. (Ensuring that
ampoule/s and
vial/s remains attached to syrirzge for drug and expiry date confirmation by
authorising
Medical OfficeY/Administering Officer).
6. Do not tape ampoule/s onto syringe 11 with medication clip 10. (This
practice obscures the Drug name and expizy details which must at all times be
legible for
correct drug administration/cross checking).
7. When administration complete discard complete unit in appropriate
sharps container.
