Aranesp syringes - broken needle

I have been asked to find out if there have been any similar incidents reported at your units. I have also notified Amgen of this occurrence. Please e-mail me at hillk@rvh.on.ca

Thanks, Karen

We had an incident today where a nurse in hemodialysis was giving a dose of Aranesp to a patient. This goes into the medication port of the patient’s tubing which sends the medication directly back into the patient.

As she was pulling the yellow shield over the needle, she noticed the needle was gone. She immediately stopped the dialysis pump and searched for the needle, which she found on the floor.

This could have resulted in a fatality if the needle had made it to the patient through the tubing.

An incident report is being completed here. The nurse did not bend the needle and was pulling it straight out of the port.