A new study suggests that an increasingly widespread hospital tubing system could be inaccurate—a dangerous finding for infants.
Tubes deliver food, medicine and blood or other liquids to tiny patients in neonatal intensive care. Mixing up the various tubes could lead to serious injury, even death. So in the mid-2000s, experts called for a new style of feeding tube connector to reduce tubing misconnections.
In response, the ENFit style connector debuted in 2014. Its “male” feeding tube connectors are only compatible with “female” syringe tubes. While the design reduces the likelihood of tubing mix ups, it ushered in a new issue.
According to researchers, the ENFit tubing connector “significantly increases the opportunity for inaccurate dosing.”