GB2128481A

GB2128481A - Catheter support

Info

Publication number: GB2128481A
Application number: GB08327800A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Victor Thomas Farrup; Jean Mary Farrup
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-10-19
Filing date: 1983-10-18
Publication date: 1984-05-02
Also published as: GB8327800D0

Abstract

A support (1) for a catheter (14) comprises a base (5) with a rest surface (6) which is applied against a patient in use, and a hollow support portion (7) which projects from the base (5) opposite the rest surface and defines an open passage (8) extending through the support from the rest surface (6). In use, the support (1) surrounds that part of the catheter (14) immediately outside the patient's body, accommodating the dressings for the catheter, and supports the catheter at the desired "angle of exit" from the patient in such a way that the risk of accidental bending or movement of the catheter (14) is considerably reduced. The support (1) is taped to the patient. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Catheter support The present invention relates to a catheter support.

Conventionally, a catheter is secured to a patient by the ends of a wound suture through the flesh, and gauze dressings are placed around the catheter to cover the hole for the catheter. The dressings are secured to the patient by adhesive tape which may also help to support the catheter at the desired angle to the patient's body, the socalled "angle of exit". In some cases, for example, with a trocar catheter inserted into the chest cavity, the wound suture may be supplemented to a very limited extent by the purse-string suture around the catheter, the main purpose of which is to close the hole when the catheter is withdrawn from the patient.

The different techniques used for applying the gauze dressings and tape can often disturb the catheter and may result in the catheter being set at the wrong angle of exit, both of which cause the patient pain and discomfort. Moreover, since the tape is flexible and does not afford much support to the catheter, the latter is prone to movements and bending which, as well as being painful, can endanger the patient if the catheter is bent to the extent that it becomes obstructed.

The object of the present invention is to provide a catheter support which ensures that the catheter is held at the correct angle of exit and minimises the risk of bending or movement of the catheter, thus solving the aforementioned problems.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a catheter support comprising a flexible base with a rest surface which is applied against a patient in use, and a hollow support portion which projects from the base on the side thereof opposite the rest surface and defines an open passage extending through the support from the rest surface, such that the support surrounds that part of an inserted catheter immediately outside the patient's body and supports it at a desired angle of exit from the patient, the support being secured to the patient in use.

The catheter support may be made from rubber or the like, but is preferably made from a plastics, such as polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride, which can be sterilised or is cheap enough to be disposable after one period of use. The support may be flexible only at its base, but is preferably wholly flexible with the support portion perhaps being firmer than the base to provide the required support.

The catheter support may be formed in one piece which is fitted onto a catheter prior to the insertion of the latter in the patient's body so that, after insertion, the support is slidable along the catheter into its position of use against the patient. If, on the other hand, the support is to be used with a catheter which has already been inserted in a patient and set at the correct angle of exit, the support must be formed in at least two parts which fit together around the catheter. This latter formation is preferable since it allows the support to be removed for replacement or for redressing of the catheter wound, without the clamping-off or disconnection of the catheter which would be required with a one-piece support.Clearly, as well as any specific requirements of use, the configuration of the two or more parts constituting such a support is governed by the fact that they must be capable of being put together around the catheter quickly and easily without disturbing it.

In one preferred embodiment, the support is constituted by two parts which are substantially mirror images of each other so that, in use, they abut each other along surfaces of contact which delineate the longitudinal median plane of the support itself. Alternatively, the two parts may abut each other at surfaces which are transverse the longitudinal median plane of the support, each part defining respective cooperating portions of the base and hollow support portion. The two parts may be interengageable by means of snapengageable or interlocking parts, such as press studs, locating pins and holes or the like in the contact surfaces, or mating lobes and recesses in cooperating edges of the base of respective parts.

Alternatively, the parts may be simply taped, clipped, tied or otherwise held together externally.

In order to accommodate catheters of different diameters and to allow for different angles of exit, a series of two-part supports may be provided in which the respective support portions define passages of different widths and/or project from the bases at different angles. Alternatively, the support may be constituted by two mating base parts, or a split annular base, for fitting around a catheter, and support portions comprising a series of inter-changeable pairs of mating channelsections which can be fitted to the base to define respective passages with different widths and/or different angles of inclination.

In the aforesaid two-part embodiments, the width of the passage at the free end of the support portion corresponds to the maximum catheter diameter, narrower catheters being accommodated by having their outer diameters increased by a winding of tape or a sleeve of appropriate internal diameter, or simply by being taped firmly to free end of the support portion. In the preferred embodiments, the passage is flared towards the rest surface to allow for different angles of exit. In some cases, the passage may be subdivided in the flared zone by a number of substantially wedge-shaped transverse partitions which are inclined to the rest surface at different angles, so that the passage is subdivided adjacent the point of exit of the catheter from the patient into sections which correspond to different angles of exit; these sections merge gradually towards the free end of the support part.

In an alternative embodiment, the passage forms a recess adjacent the rest surface and, instead of the partitions, a series of removable inserts is provided which fit snugly within the recess of the passage to define respective passage sections with different angles of inclination to the rest surface, that is, angles of exit, and/or different diameters.

The support may be secured to the patient, for example, by adhesive tape or bandages across the base or the whole support, adhesive pads around the periphery of the rest surface, bandages passing through holes in the support portion, or by a number of lugs which project from the base and allow the support to be taped to the patient.

The lugs may project from the outwardly facing edges of the base effectively to form extensions of the rest surface. The lugs may also have holes, raised loops or the like for bandages.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a catheter support according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of a part of the support of Figure 1 seen in the direction of arrows Il-Il in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a part of a support according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is a plan view of a catheter support according to a third embodiment of the invention, showing the two parts of the support separated, and Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of Figure 4.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a catheter support 1 comprising two flexible mating parts 2, 3 which are injectionmoulded or cold-moulded from plastics. The parts 2, 3 are substantially mirror images of each other and, in use, they abut along respective contact surfaces which, in the assembled condition shown in Figure 1, delineate the longitudinal median plane 4 of the support 1 itself. The two parts 2, 3 cooperate to define a base 5 with a smooth rest surface 6 for application against a patient, and a hollow curved support portion 7 which projects centrally from the side of the base 5 opposite the rest surface 6 and defines an open passage 8 extending from the surface 6 to the free end of the portion 7.The two parts 2, 3 may be formed such that the base 5 is thinner than the portion 7 and thus readily deformed to the contour of the patient's body, while the support portion 7, being thicker than the base 5, is firmer to provide a catheter with the required support.

In order that the two parts 2, 3 can be positively interengaged, the respective contact surfaces are formed with interlocking studs 9 and holes 10 (Figure 2). A number of lugs 1 1 project from the outwardly-facing edges of the base 5 as extensions of the rest surface 6 and serve for the securing of the support 1 to the patient by, for example, passing adhesive tape over the lugs 11.

Any lugs 11 which are not required may be readily cut off with scissors or a scalpel.

At the free end of the support portion 7, the passage 8 has a diameter corresponding to the maximum catheter diameter, and a number of split sleeves (not shown) with different internal diameters are provided for fitting over narrower catheters to increase their external diameters to that of the passage 8. The passage 8 is flared towards the rest surface 6 and, in the flared zone, is traversed by two wedge-shaped partitions 12, 13 which are inclined to the rest surface 6 at different angles and are each formed by matching halves integral with the parts 2, 3. The partitions 12, 13 subdivide that part of the passage 8 adjacent the rest surface 6, and hence adjacent the point of exit of a catheter from the patient in use, into three sections 8A, 8B, 8C which can accommodate catheters with exit angles of about 300, 450, and 600 respectively.

The illustrated support 1 can accommodate only one catheter at a time, but it is envisaged that other embodiments may be able to accommodate two catheters with different angles of exit by a suitable widening of the passages or the provision of an additional passage.

In use of the support 1, after a catheter 14 has been secured to the patient by the ends of a wound suture and dressed with gauze in the usual way, the two parts 2, 3 of the support 1 are brought together around the catheter 14 where it leaves the patient's body. The support 1 rests on the patient by means of the surface 6 and is taped to the patient by the lugs 1 1 so that the catheter 14 is supported in the passage 8 against bending and is kept at its desired angle of exit from the patient. The catheter 14 is secured against axial movement in the support 1 by tape 1 4A around the end of the support portion 7. The support 1 can accommodate any gauze dressing surrounding the catheter 14.

The base 5 serves to distribute the stresses on the skin arising from the insertion of the catheter 14 over a wider area than the conventional method of taping around catheter, and the lugs 1 1 allow the securing tapes to be stuck to the patient well away from the sensitive area around the wound or hole for the catheter 14.

Figure 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the catheter support 21, in which parts corresponding to the parts of the support shown in Figures 1 and 2 are given the same reference numerals. In this alternative embodiment, the passage 8 defined by the support portion 7 opens into a widened zone or recess 15 adjacent the rest surface 6, which is substantially rectangular in section. Between the recess 15 and the free end of the support portion 7, the passage 8 is curved and has a diameter corresponding to the maximum catheter diameter. The recess 15 houses a removable two-piece insert 16 having a surface 1 6A which is coplanar with the rest surface 6, and a passage section 17 of predetermined diameter and inclination relative to the surface 1 6A, which forms a continuation of the passage 8 to the rest surface 6, 1 6A. The insert 16 is one of a series of interchangeable inserts which define respective passage sections 17 of different inclinations and/or diameters so as to allow the support to be used with catheters having different angles of exit and different diameters.

In the illustrated example, the insert 16 is constituted by two mating rubber or plastics portions, with locating pins and holes, which surround the catheter 14 in use and are, in their turn, surrounded by the two parts of the support 21. The two portions of the insert 16 abut along respective surfaces which coincide with the longitudinal median plane of the assembled support 21. Alternatively, the insert 16 may be formed by a single split element or by two portions which abut along surfaces transverse the median plane of the support. Moreover, the corresponding shapes of the widened zone or recess 1 5 and the insert 16 may be different from that illustrated, such as, for example, partspherical or part-cylindrical.

A support of the type shown in Figure 3 will be shorter and therefore less cumbersome than a support of the type shown in Figures 1 and 2, since the recess 1 5 for the removable inserts 16 can be much smaller than the flared zone with the fixed partitions 12, 13 defining a number of passage sections each wide enough to accommodate a catheter. This factor of size is particularly important in a support which is used with large-diameter catheters, such as trocar catheters.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a further embodiment, in which the catheter support 31 comprises two parts 32, 33 which abut each other at surfaces transverse the longitudinal median plane of the support 31. The two parts 32, 33 define respective portions 35A, 35B of the base and upper and lower curved portions 37A, 37B respectively of the hollow support, so as to delimit the full rest surface 36 and passage 38 of the support 31 when they are mated together.

The passage 38 flares towards the rest surface 36 so that it can accommodate catheters of different diameters and/inclinations, and its free end has an internal diameter corresponding to a predetermined maximum catheter diameter.

The cooperating edges of the base portions 35A, 35B have respective lobes 39 and recesses 40 which mate together to ensure a positive interlocking of the two parts 32, 33 of the support 31. This interlocking may itself be sufficient to hold the parts 32, 33 together in use, although the parts may be secured together additionally by tape or bandages as necessary. Clearly, each base portion 35A, 35B may have a lobe and a recess rather than only one or the other as shown.

In use, after a catheter (not shown) has been secured to a patient and dressed in the usual manner, the two parts 32, 33 are fitted together around the catheter (and taped together if necessary) and the support 31 is then secured to the patient by means of tapes or bandages which pass over the base on each side of the support portion. It has been found that this embodiment of the support is well able to maintain the catheter at the desired angle of exit from the patient determined by the dressing of the catheter, without the need for the partitions or inserts of the preceding embodiments. This greatly facilitates the fitting and removal of the support 31.

In each of the embodiments described above, it will be noted that the hollow support portion 7, 37 projects centrally from the base 5, 35 and is curved whereby the inclination of its axis relative to the rest surface 6, 36 decreases gradually towards its free end in such a way that a catheter projecting from the support 1,21,31 is substantially parallel to the patient's body. This orientation of the catheter is desirable in the case of a "chest drain", for example, since the water trap used with the catheter must always remain below the point of exit of the catheter from the patient's body to prevent any draining back of fluids. In other embodiments, however, the support portion may project from a different position on the base and may have a different orientation thereto.

Claims

Claims

1. A catheter support comprising a flexible base with a rest surface which is applied against a patient in use, and a hollow support portion which projects from the base on the side thereof opposite the rest surface and defines an open passage extending through the support from the rest surface, such that the support surrounds that part of an inserted catheter immediately outside the patient's body and supports it at a desired angle of exit from the patient, the support being secured to the patient in use.

2. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the support comprises at least two parts which, in use, fit together around the catheter to form the base and support portion.

3. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the two parts are substantially mirror images of each other and abut each other along surfaces of contact which delineate the longitudinal median plane of the support itself.

4. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the two parts abut each other at surfaces transverse the longitudinal median plane of the support, each part defining respective cooperating portions of the base and the hollow support portion.

5. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein the two parts have interengageable or interlocking means to ensure positive coupling therebetween.

6. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 2, Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein the passage is flared towards the rest surface to allow the accommodation of catheters of different diameters and/or angles of exit.

7. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the flared zone of the passage is subdivided by a number of substantially wedgeshaped transverse partitions which taper away from the rest surface and are inclined to the latter at different angles, so that the passage is sub divided adjacent the point of exit of the catheter from the patient into sections corresponding to different angles of exit.

8. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 7, wherein there are two partitions defining three passage sections corresponding to angles of exit of 300, 450 and 600 respectively.

9. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 2, Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein the passage forms a recess adjacent the rest surface in which fits snugly an appropriate one of a series of removable inserts defining respective passage sections of different diameters and/or different inclinations to the rest surface.

10. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 9, wherein each insert comprises two mating parts which fit together around a catheter.

1 1. A catheter support as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the hollow support portion projects centrally from the base and is curved whereby the inclination of its axis relative to the rest surface decreases towards its free end.

12. A catheter support as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the support is moulded from a plastics material such that the support portion is flexible, and wherein the walls of the support portion are thicker than the base so that the former is less flexible than the latter.

13. A catheter support as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the plastics material is polyvinyl chloride.

14. A catheter support substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, Figures 1 and 2, Figure 3 or Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

New claims or amendments to claims filed on 5th January 1984 Superseded claims 1, 2 New or amended claims:~

1. A catheter support comprising at least two parts which, in use, fit together around a catheter to form a flexible base with a rest surface which is applied against a patient, and a hollow support portion which projects from the base on the side thereof opposite the rest surface and defines an open passage extending through the support from the rest surface, such that the support surrounds that part of the inserted catheter immediately outside the patient's body and supports it at a desired angle of exit from the patient, the support being secured to the patient in use.