Disinfectant Tips Keep Luer Connectors Free of Infection

Novel caps that cover male Luer connectors when not in use prevent microbes from infiltrating them, helping to prevent nosocomial infections.

Curos Tips work by passively bathing the male Luer connector’s surface with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Just three minutes are needed to disinfect the device. Once attached, the highly visible bright green caps act to cover and protect the male Luer, allowing healthcare auditors to monitor caregiver disinfection-practice compliance. The Curos Tips come in a five-unit strip dispenser that places the disinfecting caps in easy reach of clinicians at the point of care (POC). The tips may be used on intravenous (IV) access devices, including tubing and syringes. Curos Tips are a product of Ivera Medical (Carlsbad, CA, USA), and have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).


“We are pleased to receive clearance from the FDA to market Curos Tips to healthcare providers seeking affordable tools which standardize and promote safer disinfection practices,” said Bob Rogers, President of Ivera Medical. “Despite the known risks, unsafe practices do occur such as “looping” the exposed end of IV tubing to a port on the same line and reusing sterile caps on syringes between medication pushes. Curos Tips provide a solution that makes it easier for time-strapped clinicians to do the right thing.”

The Luer connector, named after the 19th century German medical instrument maker Hermann Wülfing Luer, is a standardized system of small-scale fluid fittings used for making leak-free connections between a male-taper fitting and its mating female part on medical and laboratory instruments, including hypodermic syringe tips and needles. There are two varieties of Luer Taper connections: Luer-Lock fittings that are securely joined by means of a tabbed hub on the female fitting, which screws into threads in a sleeve on the male fitting; and Luer-Slip fittings that simply conform to the standard 6° taper dimensions and are pressed together and held by friction.

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