The "Hidden" Small Four Bar Connector
K Bhatia, M Hariprasad
Citation
K Bhatia, M Hariprasad. The "Hidden" Small Four Bar Connector. The Internet Journal of Anesthesiology. 2006 Volume 12 Number 2.
Abstract
To The Editor
Modifying anaesthetic machines to incorporate monitoring modules can potentially lead to important parts of the machines being inaccessible. We report the identification of one such potential problem in one of our anaesthetic rooms. A frame has been mounted to the side of a Drager Cato anaesthetic machine to accommodate monitoring modules on the side. This could potentially prevent the attachment of a Manujet or Sanders injector to the small four bar connector (Figure 1) in case of an airway emergency. The connector lies hidden between the anaesthetic machine and the attached monitoring modules (Figure 2). The alternative is to disconnect the anaesthetic machine from the main pipeline supply and plug in the Sander's injector to the main oxygen supply. This would have been cumbersome and undesirable in a case of an emergency. No untoward incidents have occurred in our hospital as a result of this modification and we are in the process of rectifying the problem. However we would recommend that while placing monitoring modules on the machine care should be taken so that they do not obstruct access to important components like the small four bar connector. Also trainees who move from one hospital to another and encounter different anaesthetic machines need to be aware about the location of the small four bar connector.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Correspondence to
Dr Kailash Bhatia 49 Rectory Lane Bury,Lancashire United Kingdom drkails@yahoo.co.in