Excelsior Prefilled
Catheter Flush Syringes

	In-Service Poster
	Syringe Brochure

Prefilled catheter flush syringes provide the healthcare practitioner with a safe and effective alternative to manually drawing from multidose vials or manually filling flush syringes. Several studies have documented issues attributed to manually filled syringes.

“Polymicrobial gram-negative bacteremia associated with saline solution flush used with a needless intravenous system

The prestigious Institute for Safe Medication Practices (www.ismp.org) wrote “…[prefilled saline and heparin syringes are] an important safety measure that combines unit-dose packaging and proper labeling of syringes. In fact, any cost savings considered to be achieved through the use of multiple-dose vials can be quickly erased, because errors and cross-contamination between patients are more likely when these prefilled syringes are not available.” Grissinger, M. “A near-fatal pediatric accident: Is it time to reassess a common cost-cutting measure?”. P&T, Jan 2004, Vol. 29, No. 1.

Excelsior prefilled catheter flush syringes are available in 1 Unit/mL, 2 Units/mL, 10 Units/mL and 100 Units/mL heparin, 0.9% saline and sterile field saline flush versions. Different volumes are also available.

All Excelsior prefilled catheter flush syringes are steam terminally sterilized.

Why is terminal sterilization important?
Excelsior syringes are filled with saline or heparin in a FDA-registered, cGMP controlled clean room. The syringes are 100% steam terminally sterilized, labeled and packaged in ready-to-use, unit-dose packaging.

The FDA addressed the issue of terminal sterilization of drug products in their “Guidance for Industry – Sterile Drug Products Produced by Aseptic Processing – Current Good Manufacturing Practices. Sept 2004 ed. In section III. Scope, they stated “It is a well-accepted principle that sterile drugs should be manufactured using aseptic processing only when terminal sterilization is not feasible.” Additionally, this document further addresses issues the FDA have identified over the years with aseptic filling processes (footnote 3).

Steam terminal sterilization, also known as autoclaving, is used daily in nearly every hospital and healthcare facility in the world. The processes are well known and reliable. Excelsior prefilled syringes are 100% steam terminally sterilized.