The Pre-filled Saline Syringe (PreSS) initiative involves the introduction of a pre-filled saline syringe specifically designed for flushing vascular access devices.
PreSS was introduced to the Emergency and Trauma Centre at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital by Senior Clinical Research Nurse Tracey Hawkins.
PreSS aims to decrease potential for infection by improving adherence to Aseptic Non Touch Technique (ANTT) principles and extend patency life of PIVCs with the use of the pre-filled saline syringe.
Benefits to using PreSS instead of manual flushing include:
The Queensland Health I-CARE Guidelines (2015) designated aseptic flushing as a prime step in the process of inserting and maintenance of Vascular Access Devices, including PIVCs. It was observed that at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Emergency Trauma Centre (RBWH ETC) that the customary method of drawing up a normal saline flush was resulting in deviation from best practice guidelines including potential for contamination, and breach of medication labelling guidelines.
In recognition that pre-filled syringes were not used in many Queensland EDs, PreSS was adopted under the PROV-ED Project for state-wide rollout.
Implementation of prefilled saline syringes involves:
The implementation of PreSS at the RBWH ETC saved an estimated $10,982 per year, based on material costings alone. Not included in this estimate is the released staff time and prevention of potential medication errors and Hospital-Associated Blood Stream Infections.
