| 摘要 |
A safety intravenous catheter assembly is provided by interconnecting a safety receptacle for a retractable intravenous needle with a catheter that carries the needle and is advancible into a vein punctured by the needle. A coupling that is removably fastened to the catheter has an elongate stem portion that extends backwardly into the safety receptacle past a needle-stopping member within such receptacle. Such needle-stopping member is active to normally prevent backward movement of the needle into the receptacle. However, ultimate forward movement of the coupling with respect to the needle-stopping member following catheter emplacement into the vein permits movement of such needle-stopping member to non-stopping position, so that a tensioned spring can automatically urge the needle backwardly to a position wholly within the safety receptacle that protects against any accidental pricking, whereupon such receptacle, with its protectively contained needle, is discardable following removal of the coupling and the protectively encased needle from the emplaced catheter to prepare the catheter for IV connection and to prevent reuse of the contaminated needle. The needle-stopping member may be a stop gate that is cammed into open position or that is provided with a spring tensioned to open the gate when the rearward end of the coupling stem has passed through it in the manual advancement of the catheter into emplaced position in a vein of a patient. However, the presently contemplated best mode is to provide the needle-stopping member as a latching member carried by the needle stem, slidable within the safety receptacle, and arranged to be normally latched into needle-stopping position. |
