Transcript Broselow Tape At Amazon - Hawaii

Broselow Tape in a Pediatric
Code. Eliminating errors
By
Dr. Joseph Lewis, M.D.,
JCAHO identified several root causes
related to prenatal death:
• Poor communication (72%)
• Organizational culture as a barrier to
effective communication and teamwork
(i.e., hierarchy and intimidation, failure to
function as a team, and failure to follow
the chain of communication) (55%)
• Staff competency (47%)
• Training processes (40%)
Pediatric Code Issues
• Drug dosage errors are a major problem.
• All medications given to children in a code are
based on the weight of the child in kilograms.
• Medication errors occur frequently in the
setting of a pediatric code due to errors in
establishing the current weight of the child,
converting that weight to kilograms, then
establishing the right dose based on the drug
formulation. This complexity + stress = errors.
• Pediatric resuscitation drugs are not used
often enough to recall the correct dosage,
and valuable time is taken to look up the
correct dosage by weight. Calculations
required may include conversion of weight
from pounds to kilograms, as well as dose
by weight and concentration of the drug.
The Developers of the Color
Coding Kids Hospital System
• Doctors Jim Broselow and Bob Luten
have worked in pediatric care for many
years. In their ongoing quest to make
healthcare as safe as possible for children,
they have developed the Color Coding
Kids Hospital System which is proven to
reduce medical errors in emergency
situations.
The Broselow Color Code
Systems for Pediatric Codes
• The Broselow system uses a measuring
tape which quickly categorizes a child into
a certain weight range based on the
child’s length. This weight range is
indicated on the tape both as a weight
and a color. This requires no calculations
from the provider and eliminates a major
source of medication dosage error.
The Broselow Color Code
Systems for Pediatric Codes
• As you can see in the next slide, you
place the RED arrow end on one end of
the child and the opposite end of the tape
indicates the child’s color categorization
and approximate weight in kilograms.
The Broselow Color Code
Systems for Pediatric Codes
• As you can see in the next slide, a child
who measures out to the blue section
weighs about 19-23 kilograms and the
correct drug dosages of the common
cardiac arrest medications are listed in
easy to use fashion.
The Broselow Color Code
Systems for Pediatric Codes
• Additionally, as you can see in the next
slide, the Broselow tape also indicates
what size medical equipment is
appropriate for the child’s weight, as
medical equipment size is also determined
by the child’s size.
The Broselow Color Code
Systems for Pediatric Codes
• At this point it is easy to understand how
the Broselow tape saves time and
eliminates errors in medication dosage
and equipment size in the stressful
environment of the pediatric code.
• Additionally some Broselow tapes even
have certain critical medical condition
drug groupings like the next slide.
The Broselow Color Code
Systems for Pediatric Codes
• To further simplify care and eliminate
errors, pediatric code carts are usually
color coded by drawer, which contain the
appropriate sized equipment for that
color. Then when you measure a blue
child, everything in the blue drawer
should be the appropriate sized
equipment for your patient.