 In
February, the Oncology unit at The Children's Hospital of Southwest
Florida had a dilemma.An 18-month-old patient was having a
sickle-cell anemia attack, and he needed intravenous medicine
immediately. Sickle-cell anemia is a hereditary disease that
causes red blood cells to become sickle-shaped and sticky, which can
lead to painfully clogged blood vessels, serious infections and
organ damage.
However, staff knew from past experience that it is very hard to
find the child's veins, which often results in multiple needle
sticks and discomfort for the child.
The oncology staff thought fast and brought in the new
VeinViewers that had arrived at the hospital that day. "The
staff used the VeinViewer and got a vein on the first try to give
the child his medicine," says Dr. John Iacuone, Executive Director
of The Children's Hospital.
 The
VeinViewer uses near-infrared lighting to "light up" all of the
veins in a patient's hand or foot, making it much easier for
clinicians to identify veins and administer injections or start IVs.
The VeinViewer is especially useful when treating children, who
often have veins that are harder to identify, says Dr. Iacuone.
"This technology is so advanced that clinicians can not only find
the veins, but they can find the best veins," says Dr. Iacuone.
"It's like X-ray vision for Superman."
The VeinViewers have been used daily since February, says M.J.
Noone, Nursing Director for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at The
Children's Hospital. They have helped clinicians find good
veins for injections and IVs and, in some cases, determined that it
would not work to give some children shots or IVs, she says.
M.J. says she pursued the VeinViewer technology because shots are
the No. 1 fear of children who come to the hospital. "The
scariest things for children are needles. Anything we can do
to lessen the fear of our patients is worth it," she says.
The VeinViewers don't replace the technique necessary for needle
sticks, but it does take a lot of the guesswork out of it, she says.
The VeinViewers were purchased for the health system by the Lee
Memorial Auxiliary and Lee Memorial Health System Foundation.
The VeinViewer is manufactured by Luminetx Corporation. |
