Skeletal traction in the emergency department, now all in one package
When a resident or surgeon needs to perform a skeletal traction procedure in the emergency department (ED), there are lots of pieces they need to gather before they can begin this orthopedic procedure. Thanks to Arbutus Medical’s new TrakPak, now all those pieces can be found in one easy package, making skeletal traction faster and more efficient.
When Arbutus Medical introduced the SteriTrak, orthopedic residents working in EDs told us how great it was to have a sterile drill for skeletal traction readily accessible when time is critical. The SteriTrak kit includes a specialized pin and single-use drill cover in the same package, and EDs have these one-time-use products along with an FDA and Health Canada-approved DeWalt Drill, batteries, and charger stored in the ED with no need for additional sterilizing. But then residents asked if we could make a package that had all the other bits they needed to perform skeletal traction.
Residents told us that they spend a lot of time going from one place to another to gather all the accessories needed for skeletal traction. They need a knee positioner, a foam bump, towels, sticky drapes, a skin marking pen, ChloraPrep, a syringe, a needle, gauze, Kerlix, pin tip covers, a needle, blade, and of course, a sterile drill cover to use with their Arbutus Medical supplied power drill. We listened and now have created the TrakPak, a package for EDs containing all these accessories, as well as the drill cover and sterilized pin.
“Obtaining all the items for traction is a definite pain point for providers,” says Greg Pereira, M.D. “Remembering all these items the first several times you do the procedure is difficult. Items are often forgotten which requires the provider to have to leave the room to get the missing items. Having to leave the room in the middle of the procedure often impedes workflow, elongates the procedure, and risks breaking sterility. The kit {TrakPak} definitely helps solve this problem.”
Items included in the Arbutus Medical TrakPak
Bone fractures are a traumatic event, but with the SteriTrak and now the TrakPak, temporary traction can be applied in about one minute. With the TrakPak, preparing for skeletal traction procedures is even faster and more efficient.
“We listened to what orthopedic residents told us they needed and created both the SteriTrak and the Trakpak to meet their needs and make it more efficient and speedier to perform skeletal traction in the ED,” says Geoff Borgmann of Arbutus Medical. “We knew having a sterilized drill to use in the ED, so that no one has to run-up to the operating room for a drill, makes a huge difference for trauma centers. But now with the TrakPak, everything they need is already in the ED, all in one sterilized package, and no one has to go around gathering the stuff they need. We’ve given them more time, which is critical in skeletal traction.”
Arbutus Medical TrakPak Carry Bag that includes all items necessary for skeletal traction
Hospital trauma centers can now purchase SteriTrak, with a sterile drill cover and the pin and pin covers, or they can purchase the Trakpak, with all 14 pieces together. They also would have the drill kit, with the modified DeWalt drill, batteries, charger, and a carry bag. Having the SteriTrak drill kit and TrakPak in a trauma center ED means critical time is saved when bone fractures come in, and skeletal traction can be performed efficiently and quickly with an affordable price tag.
