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Improve safety during Thoracentesis with the SPH Medical EPD
CategoriesPatient Handling

Imaging and Interventional Radiology Implement SPH Medical’s Epidural Positioning Device

by sphmedicaladmin

SPH Medical’s Epidural Positioning Device (EPD) is a breakthrough tool that is transforming the landscape of imaging and interventional radiology departments across the nation. The device’s innovative design and functionality make it an invaluable asset in these departments, where precision, patient comfort, and safety are paramount. With Interventional Radiology and EPD, or Epidural Chair, this is quickly becoming a standard of care at leading healthcare facilities in multiple departments to solve patient positioning challenges that put staff at risk of a musculoskeletal injury.

A Deep Dive: Upright Seated Procedures in Interventional Radiology and EPD

Interventional radiology and imaging departments are often the unseen heroes of medical diagnostics and treatment. Among the myriad procedures they handle, thoracentesis stands out as a procedure that requires the patient to be in an upright seated position, making it a perfect candidate for the benefits offered by the EPD.

Thoracentesis: A Closer Look

Thoracentesis is a minimally invasive procedure performed to remove excess fluid from the space between the lungs and the chest wall, known as the pleural space. This excess fluid, if not treated, can cause shortness of breath or even lead to serious complications like pneumonia or lung collapse.

During thoracentesis, the patient is typically seated upright with their arms resting on a table. This position allows healthcare providers to access the pleural space more easily. However, maintaining this position can be challenging and uncomfortable for patients, especially those with chronic conditions or limited mobility.

SPH Medical's EPD for has dramatically improved safety for Thoracentesis

The Integral Role of the EPD in Imaging and Interventional Radiology

In the world of imaging and interventional radiology, the EPD plays a pivotal role by facilitating precise patient positioning for various procedures. This precise positioning is crucial for obtaining high-quality images, which in turn, aids in accurate diagnosis and treatment planning.

Moreover, the EPD significantly enhances patient comfort and safety during interventional radiology procedures. Its ergonomic design supports the patient’s body, allowing them to maintain the required position for extended periods without discomfort. This focus on patient comfort not only improves the patient experience but also reduces the risk of movement-related complications during procedures.

Interventional Radiology and EPD; The Unsurpassed Benefits

The benefits of the EPD extend beyond patient comfort and safety. It contributes significantly to reducing the risk of complications associated with poor positioning, such as suboptimal image quality or procedural difficulties. With the EPD, healthcare professionals can obtain clearer images, leading to more accurate diagnoses and more effective interventions.

Additionally, the EPD offers substantial advantages for healthcare providers. Its design reduces physical strain on radiologists and technicians, who no longer need to manually adjust patients during procedures. This ergonomic advantage can lessen the occurrence of work-related injuries among medical staff, enhancing overall department efficiency.

Proven Effectiveness: Case Studies and Statistics

The effectiveness of the EPD isn’t merely theoretical; it’s supported by real-world examples and compelling statistics. An increasing number of imaging and interventional radiology departments nationwide are reporting improved patient outcomes and increased staff satisfaction after implementing the EPD in their procedures1.

A Resounding Call to Action

SPH Medical’s Epidural Positioning Device (EPD) is a breakthrough tool that is transforming the landscape of Interventional Radiology and EPD. The device’s innovative design and functionality make it an invaluable asset in these departments, where precision, patient comfort, and safety are paramount.

In light of these undeniable benefits, the conclusion is clear: the EPD from SPH Medical is an essential tool for any imaging or interventional radiology department. Its combination of precision, comfort, safety, and provider-friendly design make it an invaluable asset for enhancing patient care and staff wellbeing. We strongly encourage hospitals and imaging centers nationwide to consider its implementation. Embrace the future of imaging and interventional radiology care with the Epidural Positioning Device – a decision that promises unparalleled benefits for patients and healthcare providers alike.

Improve Patient Safety with EPD
CategoriesPatient Handling

What is an Epidural Positioning Device

by sphmedicaladmin

Did you know hospitals administer tens of millions of epidurals and spinal blocks each year for pain relief? Most providers perform these procedures quickly, efficiently, and with the assurance that their patients are in expert hands. Sometimes, when administering anesthesia for pain relief at the hospital, the staff administering the epidural or spinal block are the victims. Safety measures are essential to protect healthcare staff members from becoming victims of their patients. To avoid nursing injury and staff accidents, medical facilities are now implementing additional safety measures, such as using an epidural positioning device, training, and safety equipment to help reduce the risk of injuries.

What is an Epidural Positioning Device (EPD)

An epidural positioner is a positioning device that helps the patient lean forward into a proper position to receive an epidural while fully supported. It is known as an epidural chair and it consists of an adjustable headrest, chest pad, arm supports, and footrest. These components work together to provide stability and comfort to the patient. Epidural Positioner can reduce injuries and increase patient safety during epidurals and other anesthetic procedures. Devices like this are useful in operating rooms, labor, and pain management centers. The EPDs reduce patients’ and staff’s risk and improve safety by assisting with thoracic, cervical, and lumbar flexion while maintaining stability. EPDs are available in both manual and electric versions. The manual version has a spring-loaded knob for adjusting the midsection and footrest. An electronic controller controls the midsection and footrest in the electric version. EPDs are the best choice for obstetrics, thoracentesis, and obese patients.

What is Thoracentesis?

In this procedure, doctors remove fluid from between the lungs. With the EPDs, the headrest, armrests, and footplate are adjustable for safe and comfortable positioning for the patient. Using EPD for thora’ provides a solution to staff concerns about using the unsafe bedside table. Currently, EPDs for Thoracentesis procedures are becoming the new standard for care.

COVID-19 and the Epidural Positioning Device Use

As COVID-19 spreads, health care providers will continue to suffer disproportionately. Numerous frontline caregivers have been exposed in the U.S. to date. Manual patient handling is put into a new perspective regarding patient and staff safety, including staff distance and behavior. The manual handling of patients exposes nurses to musculoskeletal injuries and can increase their exposure to COVID-19. During spinal blocks and epidurals, the staff must hold the patients in position, increasing the risk of spreading the virus. So unnecessary contact is crucial for protecting the patient and nursing injury and sickness.

Safe Patient Handling and Epidural Positioner

Epidural and spinal blocks are techniques for perioperative pain management with multiple applications in anesthesiology. An epidural injects anesthesia into the epidural space, and a spinal block injects anesthesia into the dural sac that contains the cerebrospinal fluid. It gives immediate relief due to direct access. An epidural is a standard procedure performed during labor and delivery. Although it is useful as a primary anesthetic, its most common application is pain management. It can be a single shot or a continuous infusion for long-term pain relief. Although they are generally safe, there is always a risk of injury to the person administering the medication. Using these medications safely requires that staff be properly trained and equipped.

Safety equipment:

Staff members should use safety equipment when administering epidurals and spinal blocks. This includes gloves, goggles, and masks to protect them from potential infections and other risks and ensure their safety and the safety of the patients.

Training:

Medical staff should receive proper training in safely administering spinal blocks and epidurals. This training should include both classroom instruction and hands-on training, and it should cover the equipment needed, its setup, potential problems, and how to handle emergencies. Staff should also be physically fit. Safely performing these procedures requires physical fitness, precision, and agility. Personnel who are physically fit are less likely to suffer injuries when performing medical procedures.

Epidural Positioning Device and The Proper Technique:

Proper techniques help reduce complications and ensure that patients receive the best possible care. To administer epidurals and spinal blocks safely, staff must know most of the procedures. The epidural chair facilitates positioning. However, there are other traditional methods like the ‘mad cat position’ whereby: – The patient sits on the bed edge or lies on their side on the table or bed – A nurse stacks pillows on an unstable bedside table – The patient leans over it – A nurse places a stool under the patient’s feet In this traditional method, the nurse held the patient in the proper position during the procedure.

Documentation:

The staff should document all procedures, including epidurals and spinal blocks. The documentation can help to identify any potential problems.

Conclusion

A successful mobility program and safe patient handling hinge on buying in, acquiring the right equipment, and providing guidance on the best solutions to improve patient and staff safety. Ultimately, best practices are the key. It only takes one wrong lift to ruin a nurse’s career. It takes only one snap decision to end a nursing career, and we need all our nurses.

SPH Medical Epidural Chair improves Safety
CategoriesPatient Handling

Epidural Positioning Trends and Spinal Block Safety

by sphmedicaladmin

The Epidural Positioning Chair Improves Safety

The Epidural Positioning Device (EPD) is used to help patients get an epidural injection. The design is intended to improve the safety of these procedures by reducing the risk of accidental dural puncture and increasing comfort for patients. It does this through its four-point support system, which stabilizes a patient in a seated position during their procedure with padded armrests, face support, chest cushion, and foot rests on either side of them. The epidural pain relief procedure is a common way to provide pain relief during labor.

The epidural chair is used in Labor and Delivery unit and surgical departments because it’s effective at improving safety by improving patient stability and comfort. One of the most common solutions for pain and discomfort in pregnant mothers is epidural analgesia. This involves administering drugs through an epidural needle into the space around the spinal cord. This provides pain relief for the mother during labor. The medications used in epidural analgesia can also help speed up labor.  In general Epidural Analgesia is very safe.  There are some minor risks of side effects and complications for patients including low blood pressure, which can lead to a feeling of light headedness, and in some cases a temporary loss of bladder control

.1)Use of Epidural Device
The epidural chair is a simple yet effective device that helps improve the safety and comfort of patients receiving an epidural injection. The chair is portable on wheels enabling it to be moved easily into any area of the facility. The EPD is height adjustable adapting to each unique patient to support them in a comfortable position. This secure platform ensures that the patient stays safe and comfortable during the procedure. The epidural chair is available in many hospitals and clinics, and it can help make the process more comfortable for the patient. If you are scheduled for an epidural injection, be sure to ask if the hospital or clinic has an epidural chair available. This can help ensure that you have a safe and comfortable experience. The epidural pain relief procedure may also be performed in the surgery departments or in pain management clinics to relieve chronic pain.

2) Importance of Proper Epidural Positioning
Proper epidural positioning is important because it can help reduce the risk of accidental dural puncture and ensures a more accurate epidural placement. An accidental dural puncture is a severe complication when the needle used to give the epidural injection goes too deep and enters the space between the vertebrae and the spinal cord, called the dura mater. Spinal fluid can leak out when this happens and cause minor headaches to severe complications, including paralysis. Proper positioning and a comfortably stabilized patient can help ensure that the anesthesiologist is able to direct the needle into the correct position and doesn’t go too deep.

3) How does the EPD benefit the patient during the Epidural procedure?
The EPD is designed to properly position a patient in the ideal “mad cat” position that opens up the vertebral spaces for epidural placement. Patients are often nervous and scared when thinking about getting an epidural so the EPD really offers a comfortable and stable platform for the patient to lean on and hold. This makes it a valuable tool for hospitals and clinics to improve patient safety during epidural injections and spinal blocks. The Epidural Positioning Chair is used in Labor and Delivery departments and surgical areas because it’s effective at improving safety while still being comfortable.

4) Why Are Nurses at Risk of Injury During This Procedure, And How Does the Epidural Positioning Benefit Them Specifically?
Nurses are at risk of injury during this procedure because they are typically handling patients manually and having to position the patient in a side lying position or manually positioning a patient at the edge of the bed while supporting the patient as they lean on pillows stacked on an unstable bedside table. The nurse would also be likely holding the stool in place to support the patients feet with his/her own foot. What happens when a patient suddenly moves or passes out and falls to the floor? The nurse often has to catch the falling patient or apply counterpressure to help the patient maintain the correct body position. This manual handling process is outdated and unsafe. The EPD solves all of these issues.

Conclusion

Using the Epidural Positioning Device to improve safety and comfort for patients getting an epidural injection or spinal block is vital in preventing injury to nurses and patients. The epidural device helps reduce the risk of severe complications during these procedures by providing a comfortable and safe way to position patients. Using the device to improve safety and comfort for patients getting an epidural injection or spinal block is vital in preventing injury to nurses and patients. The device helps to reduce the risk of serious complications during these procedures by providing a comfortable and safe way to position patients. Proper positioning is important because it can help reduce the risk of complications and to ensure optimal patient outcomes. An epidural positioning device is considered an essential piece of equipment in Labor and Delivery Unit and surgery departments today.

Improve patient safety with EPD
CategoriesPatient Handling

Epidural Chair Solves Spinal Block Positioning for OR

by sphmedicaladmin

Are you looking for a way to keep your patients and hospital’s medical staff safe? Do you want to lower the risk of injuries while helping patients get better faster? The epidural positioning chair may be the answer. Known as the Epidural Chair or the Epidural positioning device (EPD), the EPD is being used in hospitals and surgical practices to enhance patient safety. The device provides secure and comfortable, stable support for patients undergoing epidurals, spinal blocks, or lumbar punctures.

Many departments use EPDs for safe patient handling and to enhance worker safety in clinics, hospitals, and pre-op areas. The imaging and surgery department uses EPDs for comfort, to hold patients in positions for various procedures to reduce the risk of injury to technicians.

Epidural Chair: What is it?

People often mistake it for a chair, but it is actually the bed or table on which the patient is seated. EPD supports the arms, head, chest, and feet while a patient is seated. The device is portable and stable, allowing it to be used at the bedside as you prepare patients for spinal and epidural blocks. Various clinical settings, inside and outside of hospitals, can benefit from EPD. Epidurals are given almost every hour in labor and delivery rooms, and spinal blocks are now being administered even more often as the number of total joint replacements increases.

Epidural Positioner: Ease of use and maintenance

The Epidural Positioning Chair provides a better solution for nurses, medical staff, and health care facilities. Many hospitals consider positioning patients as the standard of care that minimizes the risk of falls, sprains, and injuries. The EPD can be used for epidurals, spinal blocks, thoracentesis, and other pain management procedures.

With EDP, patients can receive spinal blocks or other epidural therapies in a more private, dignified way. This is also safer for caregivers. The armrests adjust in six positions, and the headrest can change 180 degrees. The device can easily fit operating rooms, birthing rooms, clinics, labor and delivery rooms, and imaging departments. Disposable covers make it easy to disinfect and clean the EPD’s face rest.

EPD: The Benefits

During, after, and before the COVID-19 epidemic, thoracentesis became routine. Epidural positioning devices make the process simpler and more predictable. According to an expert, thoracentesis usually involves the patient leaning forward while their arms rest on a bedside table. Patients who cannot sit will lie on their side for safety.

Ultrasound techs also need a safe working environment. Syncope caused by vasovagal responses during thoracentesis can be treated safely with the EPD. Studies show many hospitals and medical centers use the EPD for thoracentesis procedures. It is also very popular with technicians and patients alike. In studies of pregnant women who received epidurals, women found that positioning devices made them feel more comfortable.

Compared to the patient satisfaction before using the devices, patient satisfaction increased significantly. Other benefits include:

  • Maintains correct thoracic, cervical, and lumbar flexion to maintain stable alignment.
  • Provides a more private and less intrusive position for the patients
  • Help to prevent injuries to medical and anesthesia staff.
  • Wheeled for easy mobility
  • Easily fits any patient
  • Increases patient satisfaction

Eliminate Manual Handling with The Epidural Chair

Nurses and caregivers manually position patients for epidural procedures in preoperative settings, operating rooms, and the hospital at large. During most procedures, caregivers must hold a stool, table, and patient steadily with their entire bodies. This prevents the patient from moving, resulting in an injury. When the medical assistant is assisting the patient in holding a flexed spinal position, they are potentially putting themselves in a risky position.

Handling patients manually puts medical staff at risk for musculoskeletal injuries. As part of perioperative procedures, staff members position patients as needed for spinal and epidural blocks, respectively, in Pre-Op, OR, and other rooms as required. Most patients sit at their bedsides and place their feet on a portable stool on wheels by the bedside. To create the “mad cat” flexed spine position, the nurse brings a non-locking bedside table to the patient and places pillows as needed on it. Sometimes, the patient is simply leaning forward while their arms are wrapped around a stack of pillows. By holding the foot stool in place, the nurse keeps the patient’s upper body stationary while holding the foot stool in place with the knees or thighs. The nurse or nurse assistant must often support some of the patient’s body weight during needle insertion.

Further complicating the situation, patients are often in pain, nervous, and unpredictable, putting the staff at risk. Several hospitals have concluded that prolonged holds and counterpressure tasks are high risk. They have redesigned epidural and spinal block placement processes to eliminate manual patient handling based on their predictable daily routine.

Besides reducing risk to the medical staff and caregivers, the Epidural Positioning Device creates a comfortable and safe needle placement position, ensuring increased patient comfort. Experts have shown that “normal” patients suffer injuries when they are handled manually. The constant turning, lifting, pulling, pushing, and transferring has the cumulative effect of causing small tears in the joints and discs, leading to injury.Reduce Risk of Injury in OR with EPD

Safeguarding the medical staff

Strain, back injuries, and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a severe concern for healthcare workers. The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) estimates that around 50 percent of all non-life-threatening injuries sustained by nurses are MSDs, with approximately 25 percent of these injuries involving the back.

The EPD typically addresses these concerns in preoperative rooms, which are prone to injuries. Studies show many prestigious hospitals use the device, including Mayo Clinic, VA Medical Center, Duke University Hospital, and Kaiser Hospitals. This device is an invaluable asset to the imaging team, perioperative, and Labor and Delivery (L&D), a win-win for everyone.

With the EPD, you can immediately and effectively increase patient and staff safety. If you would like more information or to request a quote, contact SPH Medical. The primary focus of SPH Medical is the safety of nurses and caregivers. The national organization offers a wide selection of safe patient handling products to healthcare facilities and hospitals nationwide, such as patient lifting solutions, air assisted transfer and positioning systems, patient slings, Nitrile Exam Gloves, N95 masks, and disinfection products.

The SPH Medical EPD improves patient safety
CategoriesPatient Handling

Epidural Trends and the Epidural Chair

by sphmedicaladmin

Current Epidural Trends in Hospitals and the Epidural Chair

Now more than ever in Labor and Delivery departments and in General Surgery areas the trend is to utilize the Epidural Chair to improve patient comfort and safety.  Equally important is the opportunity to improve safety for nursing and Anesthesia staff.  It is well known that the experience of childbirth is extremely painful for the mother. Modern medicine has advanced to provide mothers with epidural anesthesia for pain during labor. Epidural pain relief can make the child birthing experience less traumatic and exhausting for the mom. Epidural anesthesia depends on the technical abilities of the anesthetist. This requires assessing the risks that are present for the patient, positioning the patient for safe administration, and gathering the necessary staff to help with positioning. An often overlooked factor in patient outcomes in regard to pain relief is the ergonomics that nurses must respect during patient positioning to prevent themselves from developing musculoskeletal injury from repetitive patient positioning over their career. We will discuss these points in this article.

Proper positioning of the patient for safe and effective epidural pain relief can be understood with respect to the anatomy of the spinal column. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column. When a patient flexes their core, the posterior vertebral column spinal processes spread apart, allowing direct access to the dural sac that covers the spinal cord for anesthesia administration. Often, the nursing staff must help the patient remain in a still-flexed position to allow for safe administration. Depending on the patient’s body habitus, it can be difficult for nursing staff to hold the patient without compromising their own ergonomics. Patient positioning during administration of spinal anesthesia is very important.  EPD, commonly known as an epidural chair, has been implemented to help place patients flexed, allowing for effective anesthesia delivery.  The epidural positioning chair also doesn’t require nursing staff to put their bodies in stressful contortions, minimizing musculoskeletal injuries in the workplace.

Epidural pain relief is often significant to some expecting moms as they fear the pain during labor. Although it is a commonly performed procedure, epidural anesthesia does not come without its risk. Because the medication is being delivered near the dural sac and spinal cord, there is a risk of medication being administered within the dural sac. Risks seen during epidural anesthesia include a severe drop in blood pressure. Other side effects include difficulty urinating, nerve damage, nausea, vomiting, and infection.

Prevent Injury to the Spinal Cord

Injury to the spinal cord can also occur, with paralysis being a possible outcome. It is essential to understand these risks to help minimize negative outcomes. The Epidural chair helps decrease this risk by allowing the patient to be put in a fixed position that won’t disturb the anesthetist. Safety and reliability are of utmost importance in healthcare, and the EPD can provide proper positioning with adjustments in respect to the patient’s body habitus. Although there are many factors that go into the safe delivery of anesthesia, the utilization of an epidural chair can help mitigate the risk with respect to the proper positioning of the patient.

EPD can be used outside of the labor and delivery floor. With respect to spinal blocks and spinal taps, the chair is used because both procedures require the exact positioning. Spinal taps come with similar risks and can be mitigated similarly with the use of the chair. Often time patients who may need a spinal tap for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes must have a risk assessment which includes the ability to position the patient properly. In the pediatric population, a chair is not as helpful as children often require some form of sedation to help with patient positioning because of their age. In the adult population where body habitus is varied, an EPD chair that can be adjusted to reproduce the same position can help improve patient outcomes.

The Epidural Anesthesia

Epidural anesthesia can also be used to supplement general anesthesia for surgery and to help with pain alleviation during post-operative recovery. Surgeries that occur in the lower extremities can often be excruciating in the post-operative recovery period. Supplemental pain relief can help the patient feel more comfortable, and reduced pain perception can help a patient recover faster by complying with post-operative therapy. The utilization of an Epidural Positioning Device can help mitigate a safe and quick administration of a spinal block even in spite of staff not being able to be present for patient positioning. This kind of anesthesia helps reduce the usage of opioids for patients who refuse or patients with a history of opioid abuse.

Overall The utilization of an epidural positioning chair can help deliver safe and reliable anesthesia while reducing the risks of the procedure, the requirement of staffing, and the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. This chair can be utilized in similar procedures such as the spinal tap or even thoracentesis, which shows promising application outside of just epidural anesthesia. This trend to improve patient and staff safety using the EPD is increasing. Word is spreading in clinical circles that the simplicity and ease of use of the EPD drives compliance and therefore reduces risk, a very positive trend indeed.

References:

Comparing Three Different Modified Sitting Positions for Ease of Spinal Needle Insertion in Patients Undergoing Spinal Anesthesia by Sussan Soltani Mohammadi, Mohammadreza Piri, and Alireza Khajehnasiri 2017

CategoriesPatient Handling

Epidurals and Spinal Blocks

by sphmedicaladmin

Most Common Use of Epidurals

There are many times when a patient wants to be or needs to be awake during surgery. The classic case is the Caesarean section when a mother cannot have her child vaginally. She wants to see and hold her baby the moment it’s born. This procedure is possible with the use of an epidural block. By injecting numbing medication into the epidural space just above the spinal cord, the woman can have surgery and not feel pain. And she can hold her baby. The most common use of epidurals is to relieve pain during labor when combined with CBD.

In order to understand what happens in an epidural or a spinal block, you have to know a little about the anatomy of the spinal cord and the coverings of the cord, called meninges.

Anatomy

The spinal cord itself is a long rope in which the fibers are neurons. The cord gets smaller as it gets farther away from the brain. This is because the neurons leave the cord and go out to innervate various body parts.

The meninges are fibrous coverings over the cord to protect it and keep the cerebrospinal fluid inside. The CSF circulates from the brain down along the cord.

There are three layers that cover the cord. The pia mater is the one next to the cord. It is covered by the arachnoid mater, which, in turn, is enclosed by the dura mater.

The pia mater adheres to the cord tightly. It runs up into the brain, following the gyrae and sulci and carries the blood vessels that supply the cord.

Above the pia mater is an open space called the subarachnoid space. This is where the CSF is found. The arachnoid mater is the roof of the subarachnoid space. The arachnoid mater has no innervation and no blood vessels. The subdural space contains fat and the venous sinuses.

The dura mater is two layers. One forms the floor of the subdural space. The other is the lining of the bone of the spinal column, forming the roof. Between the two linings is the epidurals space.

Epidural Block and Spinal Block

Epidural Block
Unlike the subarachnoid and the subdural spaces, the epidural space extends all the way from the brain to the end of the spinal cord. Under sterile conditions, local anesthesia is injected into the skin and a needle is inserted through the skin of the back into the epidural space. A sterile catheter is placed within the space, angled down towards the patient’s feet. The needle is removed. The catheter stays in place as long as it is needed so that the patient can receive further doses of medication, if required. Epidural pain relief is highly effective.

Spinal Block
The spinal block is simpler. Under sterile conditions and local anesthesia, a needle is inserted into the subarachnoid space, where the CSF is. Medication is injected into the space and the needle is withdrawn. This is a one-time injection only.

Proper positioning of the patient is essential in either of these procedures. The needle has to be placed in a tiny space no more than 0.4 mm deep. That’s 0.015 inches. Finding that tiny space and not being off to the side at all requires the hands of an expert. Anesthesiologists generally do these procedures.

They often use an epidural positioning device or an EPD. This epidural chair holds the patient very still and in the perfect position for the procedure. An EPD helps immensely when the patient is having severe pain during labor.

Labor pain can be intense and labors can be long and hard. Many women desire the epidurals. But not everyone can be guaranteed to hold still during the catheter insertion. Injury to the meninges or even the spinal cord itself can occur if the patient moves suddenly during the procedure. Nurses have been injured as well, trying to hold women still when the labor pains hit. Using the epidural chair keeps the nurses safe and minimizes the risks to the patient.

Many Labor and Delivery units are using the EPD to help improve safety for new moms and their babies and equally as important to insure the safety of our nurses.

CategoriesPatient Handling

Epidural Chair and Pain Relief

by sphmedicaladmin

The Epidural Chair, Reduce the Risk of Complications

Pain during labor is among the most common reasons that people get an epidural with over half of women in the US electing to receive epidural anesthesia. It is important to administer an epidural properly to ensure adequate pain relief and to reduce the risk of complications. Learning more about epidural pain relief and the epidural chair can help to ensure that you make an informed decision.

When an Epidural is Used

A doctor might recommend an epidural when you are in labor, for long-term pain relief for certain types of back and neck pain and to anesthetize you for certain surgical procedures. During surgery and labor, an epidural gives you continuous relief from your pain for your lower body. While you will not lose all feeling, it reduces the sensation of pain enough to keep you comfortable.

For neck or back pain, an epidural injection may be used that delivers numbing medicine and steroids to the painful area. The pain relief that you get lasts for up to a year for some people, but for others, it lasts for a few weeks. Your doctor might recommend these injections when you go through physical therapy to keep you more comfortable or instead of powerful pain medications.

Why is Proper Positioning Important?

The right position is critical for fast administration and for patient safety and comfort. Proper positioning can be especially challenging during labor since the patient’s episodic pain can make it harder for them to get into position and stay there until the epidural is complete.

When using an epidural chair or EPD, it allows the patient to naturally get into the proper position. It also gives them a structure to hold onto so that they can remain still enough for safe and proper insertion of the needle. This helps to ensure greater safety and it makes it easier to get the patient pain relief faster.

What is the Risk to the Patient?

If an epidural is not administered properly, there is the risk of injury to the patient. You could experience longer lasting tingling and numbness in your feet or legs. These effects could mean that nerve damage has occurred. For some people, these effects can last for several weeks. Should nerve damage be present, you might need further medical treatment.

Another risk is an epidural abscess affecting major nerves in the area and your spinal cord. Permanent nerve damage is possible if the infection goes untreated. In the most severe cases of an untreated epidural abscess, bodily function loss is possible.

Why Are Nurses at Risk of Injury During an Epidural?

During an epidural, nurses will help to position the patient and take care of any mobilization. This could include static holding of patients. All of these activities can stress the nurse’s body and even put them at risk for things like muscle strains. In the most severe of cases, ruptured spinal discs are possible due to abnormal twisting of the body.

How Does an Epidural Chair Benefit Nurses?

 

An Epidural Positioning Device takes a lot of stress off of the nurse’s body when preparing and helping a patient during an epidural. Nurses can adjust the EpiduralChair and once they help the patient into the proper position, they do not have to worry about static holding. All of this increases the nurse’s safety and makes everything more comfortable for the patient and the nurse.

 

Whether you have pain during labor or you are getting certain minor surgical procedure, epidural pain relief can make a big difference. To reduce discomfort during the epidural insertion, an epidural chair can make a big difference. It can also make the process go faster so that you get relief from your pain.

Epidural Chair prevents injuries
CategoriesPatient Handling

Patients Can Feel Safer With The Epidural Positioning Device

by sphmedicaladmin

The Epidural Positioning Device, Positioning Patients Safety

What commonly comes to mind when you hear the word epidural is that someone is giving childbirth, and they need an epidural to help with the pain. For a mother in labor, an epidural provides anesthesia that creates a range of numbness from the patients navel to her upper legs.  This enables the patient to be awake and alert during childbirth, while allowing the patient to feel pressure.  However, labor and delivery rooms are not the only recommended place for epidural procedures. Patients also receive epidural treatment in general surgery and as an outpatient treatment in pain management clinics. Doctors use epidural injections to relieve pain during and after surgery and to manage chronic pain. Although epidurals help with the pain, many patients may refuse them. The primary concern or risk with an epidural is the concern about what could happen if the anesthesiologist does not insert the needle correctly. With the development of the epidural positioning device by an anesthesiologist, patients can feel safer and comfortable when receiving an epidural. The Epidural Chair, as its commonly known, helps keep their body in the proper position and stable during the procedure.

Conditions Normally Treated with Epidurals

Doctors commonly use epidural steroid injections to relieve pain associated with the following:

  • Degenerative disc disease is changes that take place over time as the discs in your spine began to break down. It can affect the surrounding nerves and cause pain.
  • Disc herniation is a condition that occurs when a disk between two vertebrae slips out of place, causing the surrounding nerves to become irritated and create extreme pain.
  • Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis where the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time.
  • Radiculopathy is when the pain that travels to other parts of the body radiates from the spine caused by a spinal nerve and roots disease.

What is an epidural chair?

An epidural positioning device is an ergonomic stabilizing stand that can easily be adjusted to a patient’s body to provide them with enough support to keep them from moving during these common medical procedures. Anesthesiologists developed the EPD to position patients properly for correct placement and to reduce risk to caregivers. Before the availability of the epidural positioning device, caregivers had no choice but to position and hold patients manually, putting them at risk of a musculoskeletal disorder or other injuries. Patients were also at risk of falling off the bed or table! As the caregivers held the patients, the anesthesiologist would administer the epidural placement or spinal block and hope the patient did not move. If patients moved during the procedure, they were at risk of injury. Anesthesiologists were also at risk of being the subject of a lawsuit if something went wrong.

Benefits of the EPD:

  • Using an epidural positioner removes strain and injury risk to staff.
  • It allows the patient to be as comfortable as possible while preventing the invasion of their personal space than the traditional way caregivers positioned their patients.
  • The epidural positioner promotes bending of the neck, throat, and back area while keeping the person’s body stable.
  • The patient’s back remains immobile during epidural placement.
  • Reduces the risk of spreading infection throughout the facility.

With the epidural positioning device, caregivers can effectively position patients in operating rooms, labor and delivery suites, and other facilities where doctors perform epidurals and spinal block procedures.

Epidural Positioning Device and Thoracentesis

A more recent function of the EPD is that doctors are using it during thoracentesis procedures. Thoracentesis is the removal of excess fluid that has accumulated in the pleural space between a person’s lungs and the chest wall. The imaging department within the hospital typically sees these patients. A trained sonographer is tasked with positioning the patient and finding the correct intervertebral space to insert the needle. When preparing for the procedure, EPDs allow caregivers to position a patient to keep them stable and comfortable. Caregivers can adjust the machine to help support the patient’s chest, arm, head, and feet.

The epidural positioning device is suitable for operating rooms, labor and delivery suites, pain centers, or anywhere doctors perform epidurals. Because of the ability to adjust the device, it is ideal for patients of all body types and sizes.

EPD the Epidural Positioning Chair
CategoriesPatient Handling

Positioning Patients Safely with The Epidural Positioning Chair

by sphmedicaladmin

Positioning Patients Safely With An Epidural Chair or EPD

Are you tired of straining your back and arms? Do you have frequent musculoskeletal problems from attempting to hold patients in position? It’s time to let the Epidural Positioning Device (EPD) take the load off your neck, back, arms and wrists.

If you’re a nurse, nursing assistant, anesthesia tech, Nurse Manager in Labor and Delivery, or General Surgery this product is indispensable. It provides a secure, stable and comfortable support for patients who need an Epidural, spinal block, lumbar puncture. You might even be in the hospital imaging department holding patients in a similar position during thoracentesis. Imaging departments across the country are discovering that the Epidural Chair or EPD is a comfortable and ideal positioning device to support patients and avoid risk of injury to the ultrasound techs!

What Is an Epidural Positioning Chair?

Well, many think it’s a chair but the patient is really sitting on the bed or table. the EPD provides head, chest, arm and feet support for the patient. The EPD is a stable, portable device you can use every time you need to properly position a patient at bedside when preparing for epidural or spinal block. This occurs in many clinical environments both in and out of the hospital. For example, Epidurals are administered almost once per hour on busy labor and delivery floors. With the increase of total joint replacements we’re seeing even more spinal blocks being administered in peri-operative areas. They’re using the EPD too.

The old way of manually positioning patients is dangerous. Nurses are often asked to hold the patient in position and with heavier patients this presents an even greater risk to the nurse. You have probably tried stacking pillows, asking the patient to lean forward and arch their back. Then pushing a stool over to support their feet. You might even have your patient lean over a bedside table, but more than likely, that table has wheels that don’t lock and you’ve seen a patient more than once almost slip down to the floor! Now who is going to catch that patient? There’s a better way.

Using the Epidural Positioning Chair for Epidurals, Thoracentesis, Spinal Blocks and other pain management Treatments

Nurses, health care managers and health care facilities need a better solution, and the Epidural Positioning Chair provides it. It’s the standard of care used at leading hospitals to position patients for a variety of procedures without causing dangerous falls, sprains or injuries. It gives patients a more private, dignified way to receive a spinal block or other epidural therapy. Best of all, it makes your job as a caregiver safer.

The device is fully adjustable with a six-position armrest and 180-degree adjustable face rest. It’s easy to bring this device into operating rooms, labor and delivery rooms, pain clinics, birthing rooms, imaging departments, and physical therapy clinics. Keeping the EPD disinfected and clean is easy with disposable covers for the face rest.

Benefits of the EPD

  • Keeps patients stable by ensuring proper cervical, thoracic and lumbar flexion for stable alignment.
  • Allows you to position patients in a less intrusive, more private way.
  • Avoids injuries to health care workers.
  • Is wheeled for easy portability anywhere it’s needed.
  • Is fully adjustable to fit any patient.
  • Improves Patient Satisfaction

Thoracentesis has become a regular procedure both before during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. The epidural positioning device makes it easy to manage this predictable and frequent procedure. According to Mark E Brauner, DO Thoracentesis is generally performed with the patient sitting at the edge of the bed and leaning forward with arms resting on a bedside table. Side lying positions are reserved for those patients unable to sit. Our ultrasound techs need a safe work environment as well! The EPD provides safe support for patients who may experience syncope from a vasovagal response during thoracentesis.  Leading Pulmonologists at the City of Hope Medical Center in California are using the EPD for all Thoracentesis procedures.  The Techs and the patients love it too.

Studies on pregnant women receiving an epidural found women felt more comfortable and secure when their health care providers used a positioning device. Patient satisfaction went up substantially when compared to patient satisfaction when the women received treatment without the device.

Keeping our Healthcare Workers Safe

Back Injuries, Strains and other MSD’s are a serious concern among health care workers. According to the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN), half of all nonfatal occupational injuries experienced by perioperative nurses are musculoskeletal and more than a quarter of these are back injuries.

The average preoperative room is a high-risk area that can cause many injuries to staff:

  • Shoulder, back and lower leg sprains from lifting patients.
  • Trips and falls from cords, wires and slippery floors.
  • Muscle strains from pushing around heavy equipment.
  • Leg and back strain from hours of constant motion.
  • Neck and Back injuries from frequent and predictable lateral transfers.

The EPD addresses many of these issues. It’s no wonder the device has become standard equipment in leading hospitals including Duke University Hospital, John’s Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Hospitals and VA Medical Centers.

This device is a win for everyone, and it will soon become an invaluable member of your L&D, perioperative, or Imaging team.

Please contact SPH Medical for more information or to request a quote.

If you’re ready to improve patient and staff safety this device can make an immediate and positive impact. SPH Medical is a national organization focused on Nursing and frontline caregiver safety.

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