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Healthcare
Safety Institute
Issues MRI Precautions
Excerpt
By Steven Reinberg, Reuters Health Writer
NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - In the wake of the accidental death of a young boy during
a routine MRI scan last month, the nonprofit research agency ECRI
has issued a hazard report and recommendations for MRI safety.
The incident
at a Valhalla, New York hospital involved a metal oxygen cylinder
that was drawn by the MRI device's magnetic force into the center
of the machine, killing a 6-year-old boy.
``There are
a small number of instances of magnetic objects flying into MRI
chambers each year,'' said Jim Keller, director of the health
devices group at ECRI (formerly the Emergency Care Research Institute)
in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.
``We don't
have a real good sense of how many actually occur, because they
are not really reported effectively,'' he told Reuters Health.
Objects drawn
into MRIs have included IV poles, parts of a forklift, a helium
cylinder, a mop bucket, a laundry cart, a chair, a ladder, a patient
lift, a light fixture, a floor buffer, tools, scissors and traction
weights, ECRI reports.
However, the
incident at Westchester Medical Center is the first death that
ECRI is aware of directly caused by an object being drawn into
an MRI.
These accidents
result from a combination of the busy environment and staff carelessness,
Keller said. The most important recommendation is to make sure
that someone is responsible for safety, he added.
``There needs
to be someone who is checking on a regular basis and can establish
policies and procedures to make sure that devices with magnetic
components cannot get into the MRI room,'' Keller said.
Among its
14 recommendations, ECRI advises that all personnel who enter
the MRI room receive formal safety training and that they always
assume that a magnetic field is present. In addition, areas with
particularly high magnetic fields should have restricted access
for personnel and equipment. There should also be a list of MRI-safe
equipment, and patients, staff and equipment should be screened
for magnetic objects before entering the MRI room.
``All the
recommendations are important,'' Keller noted, ``but the best
way to prevent these accidents from happening is to have a safety
protocol in place and someone who is responsible to make sure
that stuff doesn't slip through the cracks.''
ECRI plans
to publish detailed guidelines in an upcoming issue of its journal
Health Devices.
Reference
Source 89
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