Two nurses have invented and a marketing a device called the “NoNo Sleeve” to cut back on medical errors.
Jill Drew and Kelly Reif realized that the number of type 2 diabetes patients with chronic kidney disease was increasing and that over half of these patients had an arteriovenous (AV) fistula created in their arm for an easy access point for dialysis.
Drew and Reif, however, had seen how overworked, busy nurses might overlook a warning wristband alerting them not to use the arm with the AV fistula for an intravenous hookup, blood tests, or blood pressure cuffs, and decided a larger deterrent was needed to alert practitioners not to use that arm.
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They created a bright red sleeve, with the outline of a stop sign, which says “No BP/IV. No Labs Sleeve” and has room for the patient’s name. The sleeve fits over the forearm, is latex-free and non-compressive, and provides a visual reminder to clinicians not to use that arm.
Besides diabetes, the “NoNo Sleeve” is targeted at other conditions where using a particular arm could cause problems, such as after a mastectomy when there is a risk of secondary lymphedema, or pre- and post-PICC line placement, or in the case of trauma. Individual “NoNo Sleeves” cost $6.99, and institutions may order by the case. Each case contains 50 “NoNo Sleeves” and is discounted to $187.50 for up to 40 cases, or $140.50 for over 40 cases.
