Taste and/or Odour Disturbances in Pediatric Patients Undergoing IV Flush with Normal Saline Administered by Prefilled Syringe.

BACKGROUND At the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, more than 6000 inpatients per year undergo IV saline flushes by prefilled syringe to assess and maintain patency of IV tubing. In studies involving adults, it has been reported that volatile substances may leach from syringe materials into the saline, leading to taste and/or odour disturbances. OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of taste and/or odour disturbances in pediatric patients after flushing of IV tubing with 0.9% sodium chloride (normal saline [NS]) from prefilled syringes. METHODS Inpatients aged 5-18 years who had undergone routine flushing of central or peripheral IV tubing with commercially available prefilled NS syringes were interviewed. Children aged 5-10 years used a visual hedonic scale to rate taste and odour sensations, and those aged 11-18 years used a numeric rating scale. RESULTS During the study period (April to July 2011), a total of 104 pediatric inpatients (21 aged 5-10 years and 83 aged 11-18 years) underwent NS flushing of central (10 patients [10%]) or peripheral (94 patients [90%]) tubing. For 100 of these patients, BD Posiflush NaCl 0.9% 10-mL sterile prefilled syringes were used, and for 4 patients BD Saline XS NaCl 0.9% 10-mL sterile prefilled syringes were used. Taste and/or odour disturbances were reported by 76 (73%) of the patients. Twelve patients described more than one taste or odour sensation. Taste and odour disturbances were detected by children in both age groups. CONCLUSIONS Flushing of IV tubing with prefilled NS syringes resulted in taste and/or odour disturbances in a pediatric population.