The present invention relates to the field of containers for administering medical fluids to patients. More particularly, the present invention relates to a snap-over clamshell protective port cap for intravenous (IV) fluid containers.
Access ports are commonly used in infusion solution containers to administer solutions to a patient, or to add medicaments or other solutions to the container prior to administration. Current solution containers typically may include a dedicated outlet port for solution administration to a patient and a dedicated inlet port for the addition of diluent or other ingredients to the container. These ports are conventional in the art and may be of different types of construction but typically have an annular flange. The ports are in fluid communication with the container, usually via an attached tube having a diameter smaller than the port flange.
The outlet port is intended to be coupled to an administrative set and is therefore commonly referred to as the administrative port, whereas the inlet port is designed to permit the injection of therapeutic agents and nutrients into the partially filled container and is sometimes identified as the additive or injection port. Such a container may contain a partial filling of a sterile solution such as water, saline, dextrose or a combination thereof to function as a diluent for the injected additive. The diluted drug or nutrient is then administered to a patient by means of the administrative set that may be either directly or indirectly (i.e., through another solution set) coupled to the patient.
Maintaining the integrity of medication solutions to be administered to a patient is of major importance. It has been found, however, that careless or inattentive handling of a solution container may create significant risks of drug administration errors. Such errors include duplicate administrations of the same substance (overdosing) as well as mis-administration of the wrong substance. These risks may be increased where emergency situations are presented that require quick manipulation of the various components and quick addition of one or more substances to a container via the additive port. In extreme circumstances, a person may intentionally seek to harm a patient by adding one or more agents. Likewise, one could deliberately remove properly mixed solutions via the additive port for illicit purposes. It is imperative that evidence of such tampering be readily apparent to caregivers or their supervisors.
Current methods of making notification of a previous drug administration include placing an adhesive label over the face of the port or onto the container itself. Adhesive labels are not mechanically attached to the port or the container, may be removed, and do not offer any resistance to subsequent needle penetration.
Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that is readily available and easy to place on a port, fully covering the same, upon the completion of prescribed drug admixtures.
A further object of the invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that cannot be removed without damaging the cap and/or the underlying port, and/or leaving visible evidence of tampering.
Another object of the invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that is puncture resistant so as to deter the administration or removal of one or more substances via syringe after the cap is in place.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an additive port cap closure that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
A snap-over clamshell protective port cap is provided for use primarily in clinical healthcare settings, such as hospital pharmacies. Specifically, the cap is designed to be placed over an injection or additive port on a conventional IV fluid container or the like.
In a typical scenario, one or more substances are added to the container through the injection port using a conventional syringe. In order to deter unwanted or erroneous drug administrations or withdrawals, the snap-over port cap is immediately placed over the injection or additive port. The cap is intended for a single use, is disposable and cannot be removed, tampered with or compromised without damaging the cap or at the very least conspicuously stressing or deforming the cap material to give a visible indicator of the disrupting activity.
The cap comprises two cylindrical halves connected by a hinge. The end of each half cylinder opposite the hinge has a complementary component of an interlocking snap. The first half of the cap comprises roughly one half of a cylindrical skirt, a puncture-resistant, circular lid portion, and a flange, while the second half comprises the remaining one half of the cylindrical skirt and a corresponding flange. In use, an open cap is placed about an injection port such that the injection surface of the port is obscured or covered by the lid portion. The halves are pivoted toward one another about the hinge and the interlocking snap is engaged.
The diameter of the lid portion is larger than the diameter of the access site about the port, covering that portion of the port utilized for administrations. Upward axial movement relative to the port is deterred by the engagement between the flange on the cap and the flange about the port, and the cap is maintained in place.
Attempts to forcibly remove the cap from the port will cause visible deformation or destructive change to the cap, particularly to the latch tabs and the hinge, and possibly to the port and/or the container.
The embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific manners in which to make and use the invention and are not to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the instant invention.
While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be noted that many modifications may be made in the details of the invention's construction and the arrangement of its components without departing from the scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification.
Referring to
Also considering
As shown in
In use, first half 12 of open cap 10 is placed about an injection port 42 such that the injection surface or access site 44 of port 42 is obscured or covered by lid portion 32, and flange 34 is situated about an equivalent circumference of injection port flange 52 and is partially around inlet tube 46. Still referring to
In the first instance, as illustrated in
Turning to
When closed, cap 10 may rotate freely about injection port 42, but closed annular flange 56 prevents cap 10 from being axially removed from injection port 42. Cylindrical skirt 54 is constructed of a substantially rigid material, such as polypropylene or suitable plastic. Lid portion 32 is also constructed of a rigid material, such as polypropylene or suitable plastic, and is preferably of sufficient thickness to provide puncture resistance to conventional clinical needles. Cap 10 may be molded as a unitary piece using conventional techniques.
The diameter of lid portion 32 is larger than the diameter of access site 44, such that when cap 10 is in place, lid portion 32 fully covers access site 44. Lid portion 32 is preferably unitary or of one-piece construction, such that there are no gaps, spaces or seams about that portion of lid portion 32, generally the center, that corresponds to access site 44 of injection port 42.
Approximately one half of the circumference of lid portion 32 adjoins first cylindrical skirt portion 30 of first half 12. The remaining approximate one half of the circumference of lid portion 32 extends in a cantilevered manner from the first-mentioned portion and is free from (i.e., does not adjoin) skirt portion 30. This free circumference 58 is preferably beveled, as shown in
Beveled circumference 58 of lid portion 32 and beveled end 60 of second cylindrical skirt portion 36 interlock when first half 12 and second half 14 are closed about hinge 24. In one embodiment, shown in cross-section in
Optionally, as shown in
Once all desired medications, drugs and other substances have been added to container 40 in any conventional manner, cap 10 is placed over injection port 42 with lid portion 32 facing outward and with the interior of cap 10 facing injection port 42. Thereafter, removal of cap 10 is deterred due to interference between closed annular flange 56 and flange 52 about injection port 42.
Referring back to
Snap portions 26, 28 serve as tensile stress concentrators. Attempts to forcibly open cap 10 will result in the fracture of one or both snap portions 26, 28 or at the very least cause a visible deformation of one or more portions of snap portions 26, 28, as well as closed cylindrical skirt 54. Deformations could include, but are not limited to, discoloration, stressing, and creasing. Likewise, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that attempts to pry cap 10 away from injection port 42 will result in deformations to cap 10, and could additionally result in deformations and/or destructive changes to injection port 42, inlet tube 46 or even container 40.
Caps 10 may be color coded to facilitate identification of certain types of medical solutions. For example, red caps may be provided for hazardous agents such as oncolytics, while purple caps may be provided for general drug administrations. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that there are a number of color-coding conventions in the clinical setting, and that there are potentially limitless color combinations.
Whereas, the present invention has been described in relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the scope of this invention.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/986,341, filed on Nov. 8, 2007, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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