Can someone explain why EKG cables are not arranged where the green and white leads are arranged at one end together and not interrupted by another lead? It never made sense why not group those two together?
EKG wire manufacturing
- Thread starter Bones411
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The ones we use at my hospital are. Never seen them any other way...
Hijacking the thread to ask whether anyone uses disposable EKG leads, and if so whether you have any sense of how the cost compares? Obviously it’s not great for the environment, but one set of leads can follow a patient for his/her entire hospitalization- no more running around looking for missing leads, stealing them from the PACU and getting yelled at (yes my system is inefficient), or finding blood from the last patient on the crevices on the clips of the leads (gross, and sadly common- they seem hard to clean well)
Hijacking the thread to ask whether anyone uses disposable EKG leads, and if so whether you have any sense of how the cost compares? Obviously it’s not great for the environment, but one set of leads can follow a patient for his/her entire hospitalization- no more running around looking for missing leads, stealing them from the PACU and getting yelled at (yes my system is inefficient), or finding blood from the last patient on the crevices on the clips of the leads (gross, and sadly common- they seem hard to clean well)
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Large PP affiliated with the residency program transitioned from all reusable monitors (EKG cables, BP cuff, pulse ox) to all single use in my last year of residency. Nice to have all monitors in holding then click everything once in the OR then keep all in place for PACU. No idea about cost. Now in PP, all practices I had interviewed or worked with have resuable cables.
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Only place I ever saw disposable EKGs was my local VA in residency. I felt bad for the environmental impact, but it sure was efficient.
This particular VA seemed to be swimming in money, though (all new fleet of X-8 probes, one glidescope for every two rooms, beaucoup tech support, etc)
D
deleted162650
At our mothership we have backpads for the EKG. It’s a single hollow rectangle shaped sticker that goes on the back with a single cable coming off the top instead of three separate leads. Eliminates a lot of tangles, but the wave form isn’t quite as good as having separate stickers. Plus you can’t really move the leads around until the ST depressions go away. 
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One of our PP hospitals switched to single-use ECG leads which follow the patient. The pre-op RN's apply then in pre-op. Main disadvantage clinically, is that they apply them without regard to the surgical procedure or site, which then involves untangling and re-applying new electrodes almost every time. No time savings and cost of wasted electrodes, but otherwise easier when disengaging from the OR monitor and re-hooking up the patient in PACU.
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Tangential to the OP question, but what is stopping manufacturers from making wireless ekg lead set? (Maybe a stupid question)
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They exist, we use ‘em in MRI. They’re kind of annoyingly poor quality (susceptible to all sorts of interference), and probably more expensive. I would guess that cost is the prohibitive issue preventing widespread adoption
D
deleted162650
Hmmm. Maybe they could give it a catchy name like “Telemetry”. Hell, I bet it’d be useful for patients on the floor too.
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Ok that wasn't actually what I was referring to. Should have been more apecific when i was trying to describe it.. by wireless I mean having every lead wireless.. so there are no wires or cords at all. Nothing to untangle.
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