For over 20 years, clinicians have reported failures to connect the correct tubing to intravenous (IV), epidural, intracranial, intrathecal, gas, and other high-risk systems that resulted in death to the patient. Despite abundant evidence and consensus among organizations and agencies, tubing misconnections in the United States remain a pervasive risk to patient safety. Simply stated, the health care industry has been unable to remove a deadly and obvious threat to patients.
Luer lock connectors are in every health care setting where therapies are delivered in the form of a fluid, feeding, gas, or device. Often called Luer connectors or small-bore connectors, they are the most convenient way to connect delivery systems in health care and are found at the end and/or beginning of tubing and syringe systems for delivery of IV, enteral, and respiratory therapies, gases (such as driving gases for equipment), drains, inflation cuffs, and others. Direct care providers...