1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for holding a non-ported IV that is installed in a patient's body so that it does not move. Specifically, the invention is an IV line clasp that takes the place of tape to hold an IV line in place on the patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present method for holding an installed intravenous (IV) needle is to put tape or some type of elastic band around the IV and the patient's body where the IV is installed. The problem with using tape is that the IV can shift under the tape and become dislodged. A still further problem with use of tape is that the tape can cause allergic reactions, can irritate or actually cause the skin to be removed when the tape is removed from the patient's body. This is particularly problematic when the skin is delicate, such as on an infant or elderly person or where there has been damage to the skin, such as in the case of a burn patient.
Use of an elastic band around the patient's body to secure the IV is also problematic since the elastic band can cut off circulation and result in tissue damage or death of tissue, even to the point of the patient losing a limb.
The present invention addresses these problems by providing an IV line clasp that receives and holds the IV equipment securely within a contoured recess or channel provided in the head of the clasp and that has an adjustable strap attaching to the clasp that secures together on its opposite ends to hold the IV in place on the patient's body without the use of tape.
The present invention is an IV line clasp that receives and holds the IV equipment securely within a contoured recess or channel provided in the head of the clasp and that has adjustable strap attaching to the clasp that secures together on its opposite ends to hold the IV in place on the patient's body without the use of tape.
Referring initially to
Referring to
The straps 26A and 26B are adjustable in length and are designed to be secured together around the patient's body 12 with fasteners 32, such as the hook and loop fastener that is illustrated. The straps 26A and 26B are preferably constructed of a comfortable, non-allergenic material that has a minimal amount of stretching capacity, such as the cotton bands that are illustrated.
Referring to
In use, the IV catheter is first installed in the patient's body 12. Then the IV line clasp 20 is placed over the IV equipment 10 so that the IV catheter of the IV equipment 10 inserts into the IV catheter receiving section 44 of the channel 22, the butterfly wings of the IV equipment 10 inserts into the butterfly receiving section 46, the hub of the IV equipment 10 inserts into hub receiving section 48, the hep lock or heparin containing lock of the IV equipment 10 inserts into the hep lock receiving section 50, and the IV line of the IV equipment 10 inserts into the IV line receiving section 52. When the IV equipment 10 is thus inserted into the channel 22, the IV catheter will exit the head 24 via the first circular opening 40A and the IV line will exit the head 24 via the second circular opening 40B. After the IV equipment 10 has been thus received in the channel 22, the straps 26A and 26B are extended around the patient's body 12 and secured together via fasteners 32 in order to secure the IV equipment 10 to the patient's body 12. The straps 26A and 26B are then adjusted in length to have a secure, but not a tight fit around the patient's body 12 so that the patient's circulation is not affected.
Referring now to
Referring also to
Also, it is desirable that the single strap 25 be only semi-elastic such that the strap 25 stretches slightly and clings to the patient's body when secured around the part of the patient's body to which an IV line is attached and is not easily dislodged therefrom. However, the single strap 25 should not be capable of stretching too much so that it is not so elastic that the strap 25 would present a danger of cutting off the circulation in the patient's body part to which it attaches.
The head 24A is preferably constructed of flexible plastic material that can be flexed to allow the IV equipment 10 to enter the channel 22, be held securely in the channel 22 when in use, and can be flexed to removed the IV equipment 20 from the channel 22 when desired.
While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for the purposes of exemplification, but is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled.
The present application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,529 for IV Line Clasp that was filed on Mar. 14, 2013.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 13803529 | Mar 2013 | US |
Child | 13958976 | US |