# Increasing Utilization of Scrubbing Devices for Peripheral Intravenous Disinfectable Needleless Closed Connectors

## TL;DR

This study shows that education improved the use of scrubbing devices to disinfect IV connectors, reducing infection risks in hospital settings.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that targeted education significantly increases scrubbing device utilization for IV disinfection.

## Key findings

- Scrubbing device use per case nearly doubled after educational interventions.
- The increase was statistically significant (P < 0.0001).
- Focus groups and audits were used to assess and improve compliance.

## Abstract

Introduction

Peripheral intravenous (IV) administration sets are a source of infection that increases morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. In this quality improvement project, we aimed to enhance compliance with peripheral IV hub disinfection at anesthesia induction to follow the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) safe medication injection guidelines.

Methods

This study was conducted in the main operating suite of the University of Miami’s principal hospital between June and October 2023. Audits of scrubbing device utilization by the anesthesiology team and focus groups were conducted before and after two educational interventions. Educational efforts focused on increasing compliance with peripheral IV disinfection using scrubbing devices.

Results

Mean use per case, inferred from the number of devices dispensed, nearly doubled from 0.44 (95% CI, 0.37 to 0.59) to 0.82 (95% CI, 0.77 to 0.88) (P < 0.0001). Implications regarding steps to further enhance compliance are discussed.

Conclusions

Through a simple educational program, scrubbing device utilization increased significantly from baseline.