Arm restraint for iv site stability

Abstract

The invention relates to an upper extremity restraint which uses moveable non-adhesive restraint strappings and a reversible rigid platform, which enables a caregiver to ensure the patient's secure upper limb positioning for intravenous site maintenance. The present invention also includes an upper extremity restraint which uses parallel openings in the backbone restraint, which enable the immobilization of the upper limb through use of tie down restraining to prevent formation of hematomas or other types of patient injury caused by IV catheter site interruption or displacement.

Therefore, the following is claimed: 
     
         1 . A reversible upper extremity restraint for maintaining the integrity of a patient's intravenous catheter insertion site, which comprises:
 a substantially oblong backbone with oppositely disposed anterior and posterior surfaces comprising exposed hook fastener material thereon, with oppositely disposed longitudinal side edges,   a removably attachable sheet of therapy material comprising loop fastener fabric for fastening to said hook fastener material on said anterior surface, said sheet of therapy material for receiving a patient's forearm thereon,   said therapy material defining said patient's forearm contact surface,   at least two anterior strapping fasteners, wherein   a first anterior strapping fastener comprises loop fastener fabric removably attachable to said hook fastener material on said posterior surface of said backbone, wherein said first anterior strapping may extend without slack continuously from one of said backbone edges, over said patient's upper extremity and over the other of said backbone edges for securing said backbone to said patient's upper extremity thereon at the proximal end of said backbone,   a second anterior strapping fastener comprises loop fastener fabric removably attachable to said hook fastener material on said posterior surface of said backbone, wherein said second anterior strapping may extend without slack continuously from one of said backbone edges, over said patient's upper extremity and over the other of said backbone edges for securing said backbone to said patient's upper extremity thereon at the distal end of said backbone,   whereby said upper extremity restraint enables the positioning of said patient's upper extremity for secure attachment to a relatively fixed support and thus the integrity of said patient's intravenous catheter insertion is maintained.   
     
     
         2 . The reversible upper extremity restraint set forth in  claim 1 ,
 wherein said backbone comprises a 135° bend to accommodate said patient's wrist and said patient's hand may be secured to said backbone by an anterior strapping fastener comprised of loop fastener fabric removably attachable to said hook fastener material on said posterior surface of said backbone, wherein said anterior strapping may extend without slack continuously from one of said backbone edges, over said patient's hand and over the other of said backbone edges for securing said backbone to said patient's hand thereon at the distal end of said backbone.   
     
     
         3 . The reversible upper extremity restraint set forth in  claim 1 ,
 wherein said backbone comprises a backstopping 145° bend disposable at an elbow of said patient and said patient's upper arm may be secured to said backbone by an anterior strapping fastener comprised of loop fastener fabric removably attachable to said hook fastener material on said posterior surface of said backbone, wherein said anterior strapping may extend without slack continuously from one of said backbone edges, over said patient's upper arm and over the other of said backbone edges for securing said backbone to said patient's upper arm thereon at the proximal end of said backbone.   
     
     
         4 . The reversible upper extremity restraint set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the backbone comprises pairs of slots through which a tie down strap may be threaded to secure said backbone to a patient station. 
     
     
         5 . A restraining system for restraining a patient upper extremity, said system comprising:
 a substantially rigid oblong board having a length corresponding to a length of the upper extremity and a width corresponding to a width of the upper extremity, said board defining first and second surfaces, said surfaces comprising hook material;   a comfort layer dimensioned to correspond to a profile of the patient upper extremity, said comfort layer removably attachable to said hook material of a selected surface of the board;   a distal restraint strap comprising attachment portions at each end, said portions removably attachable to said hook material;   a proximal restraint strap comprising attachment portions at each end, said portions removably attachable to said hook material;   wherein the comfort layer may be attached to the selected surface of the board, permitting disposition of the patient's upper extremity upon the comfort layer, the proximal restraint is dimensioned to be slacklessly wrapable over a proximal portion of the patient's upper extremity when attached at each end to the board surface opposite the comfort layer, and the distal restraint is dimensioned to be slacklessly wrapable over a distal portion of the patient's upper extremity when attached at each end to the board surface opposite the comfort layer.   
     
     
         6 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , wherein the board comprises a bend effecting a bent portion, said bend disposable under a wrist of the patient, and the distal strap may be disposed to slacklessly restrain a portion of the upper extremity distal to the wrist to the bent portion. 
     
     
         7 . The restraining system of  claim 6 , wherein the bend is between 85°-175°. 
     
     
         8 . The restraining system of  claim 7 , wherein the bend is 135°. 
     
     
         9 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , wherein the board comprises a bend effecting a backstop portion disposable behind an elbow of the patient and the proximal restraint strap may be disposed to slacklessly restrain a portion of the upper extremity proximal to the elbow to the backstop portion. 
     
     
         10 . The restraining system of  claim 9 , wherein the bend is between 85°-175°. 
     
     
         11 . The restraining system of  claim 10 , wherein the bend is 145°. 
     
     
         12 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , wherein the comfort layer comprises resilient padding. 
     
     
         13 . The restraining system of  claim 12 , wherein the comfort layer further comprises a fabric disposed to contact the upper extremity. 
     
     
         14 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , wherein the board is perforated. 
     
     
         15 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , wherein the board is formed from moldable thermoplastic. 
     
     
         16 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , further comprising a tie down strap wherein the tie down strap may be used to secure the board to a patient station. 
     
     
         17 . The restraining system of  claim 16 , wherein the board comprises slots through which the tie down strap may be threaded. 
     
     
         18 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , wherein the comfort layer is dimensioned to substantially cover an anterior surface of the board. 
     
     
         19 . The restraining system of  claim 5 , wherein the board comprises a wrist bend disposable under a wrist of the patient, said wrist bend effecting a hand portion of the board and an elbow bend disposable behind an elbow of the patient said elbow bend effecting a backstop portion of the board, wherein the distal strap may be disposed to slacklessly restrain a hand of the patient to the hand portion and wherein the proximal restraint strap may be disposed to slacklessly restrain an upper arm of the patient to the backstop portion. 
     
     
         20 . The restraining system of  claim 19 , further comprising a middle restraint strap comprising attachment portions at each end, said portions removably attachable to said hook material, wherein the middle extremity restraint strap is dimensioned to be slacklessly disposable around a middle portion of the patient's upper extremity when said middle restraint strap is attached to the board surface opposite the comfort layer.