Color-coded syringes may help emergency crews treat children for sudden heart stoppage faster and eliminate medication dosing errors.
In two simulations of pediatric cardiac arrest, emergency room nurses and doctors treated patients 28 seconds faster and paramedics and medical technicians nine seconds faster when they used color-coded, pre-filled syringes of medicine compared to manually preparing several medications.
Moreover, using color-coded syringes eliminated giving patients too much or too little medication while manual dosing had 17 percent error in the emergency room group, and 37 percent error from the pre-hospital providers..
Related Information:
American Heart Association News Tips - RESS Abstract LBRS-358
More information about cardiac arrest is at www.heart.org/cardiacarrest.
For more about heart rhythm disorders in children, click here. 
