Certain Types of Vena Cava Filters May Fracture and Fragment, Causing Potentially Life-Threatening Complications

Two specific types of vena cava filters, devices used to prevent blood clots from reaching the lungs, appear to have evidence of fracturing inside the body, with some fractured fragments traveling to the heart and causing potentially life-threatening complications, according to a report posted online that will appear in the November 8 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Patient Safety on the Fly

Patient Safety on the Fly Technology and Teamwork

Picture this: You are a nurse on an emergency transport helicopter en route to pick up a critical patient who is intubated at an outlying facility. Upon arrival, you learn the patient has adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), complicated by septic shock.

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First, Protect the Patient from Harm

First, Protect the Patient from Harm
Applying Adult Learning Principles to Patient Safety

“First, do no harm.” Today, unlike in the time of Hippocrates, evidence of harm may not become immediately obvious during healthcare interventions. For example, a lapse in attention while inserting a central line may result in a blood stream infection that becomes apparent days later.

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