A lifeline: enhancing neonatal central venous catheter safety
Implementation of a traffic light system for reviewing central lines in a UK based tertiary neonatal unit. The use of central venous catheters (CVCs) is paramount for delivering neonatal intensive care as they enable the delivery of intravenous fluids, parenteral nutrition (PN) and medications. Malpositioned umbilical venous catheters and percutaneously inserted central catheters (PICCs) can cause serious harm to our vulnerable infants. Such complications include hepatic injury, cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac tamponade.1 The British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM), with the support of the Patient Safety Domain of NHS England, developed widely accepted national standards to reduce the incidence of complications associated with neonatal CVCs.1 This quality improvement project was initiated after two episodes of cardiac tamponade occurred in infants in a tertiary neonatal unit. The investigation highlighted that they were caused by malpositioned CVCs. Given the serious safety im
