[Chirley]

I participated in a study with these "positive pressure" bungs some years ago. The results were so dramatic that the hospital I worked at immediately placed them on the standard stock list. That meant they were available for all IVs, not just central lines.

We also introduced a policy that lines that were used to infuse blood were replaced by new lines at the completion of the transfusion. Also, no line was to be disconnected and reconnected under any circumstances. Once a line was disconnected for any reason it was replaced with a new one. Also, lines were not to be connected and disconnected unnecessarily. That meant no disconnection for the shower etc. our research showed that BSIs (blood stream infections) rose when lines were continuously being disconnected.