Crash Cart Supply and Equipment Checklist

Medical emergencies arise suddenly in hospitals and medical facilities. A patient may faint, experience allergic shock, or suffer severe pain. So how do healthcare workers attend to such emergencies? Thanks to the hospital crash cart, doctors always have the proper medications or instruments at hand to provide rapid first aid. 

Here, we'll discuss the medical crash cart, the description and checklist of materials and drugs it must contain, and its maintenance. Also, you'll know where to buy the crash cart in bulk at wholesale prices.

What Is a Hospital Crash Cart?

A hospital crash cart is a cabinet with multiple drawers containing life-saving equipment and medications required to attend to emergencies. It is also called a code cart, emergency trolley/cart, or emergency response cart. Crash carts are present in every hospital, outpatient center, residential, or rehabilitation center and are easily accessible to doctors, nurses, or appropriately trained personnel. 

Emergency trolleys have become indispensable and vital tools for patients with life-threatening conditions requiring rapid intervention. Examples of medical emergencies include compromised airway, hypoglycemia, cardiac arrest, anaphylactic reaction, drug overdose, etc. In such situations, the slightest delay can sometimes lead to irreversible consequences. This is why the crash cart is highly mobile and compact despite all the life-saving supplies.

The crash cart setup is designed to facilitate immediate access to tools and medication and allow for efficient coordination of its contents. It is usually made of rigid plastic and equipped with seals that guarantee the integrity of its content. There are different brands and models of crash carts in the market. While some are for adult conditions, there are others for pediatric use. However, regardless of the class of patients, a typical hospital crash cart would have the following parts:

●      Multiple drawers of different sizes, usually five

●      IV pole

●      Safety lock

●      Top of the cart

●      Dust basket

●      Defibrillator shelf

●      Wheels

●      Utility hooks

●      Centralized lock

These parts serve different functions in storing several contents of the crash cart. Keep reading as we'll discuss a few soon.

What Is in the Crash Cart?

There are several models and brands of crash carts. However, while they may differ in shape and size, they perform similar functions. Here are some important crash cart contents:

Portable defibrillator

Most clinical emergencies involve abnormal cardiac functions like cardiac arrest and arrhythmia. For this reason, a defibrillator is a vital crash cart content. The device triggers an electric shock to the heart to restore normalcy. There are different defibrillators, but the ones used in emergency units are the automated external defibrillators (AED), as they're easier to use. Every hospital crash cart has a defibrillator shelf, and the cart is usually placed near a power outlet to ensure the device is always charged when not in use.

Patient Monitor

The patient monitor is usually placed on top of the cart. It's a device used to observe cardiac and hemodynamic functions. Cardiac monitoring assesses cardiac rhythm and electrical activity by producing an electrocardiogram (ECG). On the other hand, hemodynamic monitoring measures blood pressure and heart rate. Also, the patient monitor displays a patient's temperature, respiration rate, and oxygen saturation (SpO₂).

Portable suction machine

Respiratory emergencies may be due to airway obstruction by blood, mucus, or body secretion. With the suction machine (or aspirator), healthcare workers can clear a blocked airway to improve breathing or facilitate intubation. Ordinarily, you'll find a wall-mounted suction machine in every patient ward. However, in case of an emergency that may not necessarily occur within the hospital, the portable suction machine comes to the rescue. It is a versatile battery-powered device used in and out of the hospital. But healthcare workers must always keep extra batteries to ensure the device's efficiency.

Airway equipment

Airway equipment must be readily available in the crash cart. Examples include but are not restricted to:

●      Oxygen tank

●      Oxygen mask

●      Nasal cannulas

●      Bag-valve mask

●      Magill forceps

Also, the pieces of airway equipment cover intubation tools like:

●      Multiple sizes of endotracheal tubes

●      Stylets

●      CO₂ detectors

●      Flashlight

●      Catheters

●      laryngoscopes

●      Bite block

●      Tongue depressors, etc.

IV equipment

IV interventions are vital in every emergency. Therefore, the appropriate equipment must be in check. They include:

●      IV Tube

●      Endotracheal tubes

●      Needle

●      Syringe

●      Extension tubing

●      Tourniquets

●      Tape

●      Alcohol wipes

●      Angiocaths

●      IV fluids (dextrose, lactated ringers, normal saline)

Medications

The list of crash cart meds varies depending on the hospital. But, a typical cart will contain medications for cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, and arrhythmias. They include:

●      Atropine

●      Aminophylline

●      Amiodarone

●      Aspirin

●      Beclometasone spray

●      Calcium chloride

●      Ephedrine

●      Epinephrine

●      Dextrose

●      Diazepam

●      Digoxin

●      Dopamine

●      Etomidate

●      Furosemide

●      Heparin

●      Hydrocortisone

●      Lidocaine

●      Methylprednisolone

●      Nitroglycerin spray

●      Salbutamol in spray

●      Sodium bicarbonate

●      Water for injection

Drawer Management

The crash cart contents must but optimally organized to ensure a smooth emergency intervention. A typical crash cart has five drawers. However, the contents are not stored randomly.

The first drawer should contain medications for cardiac arrest, arrhythmias, and IV meds for hypotensive shock. But, the second drawer should include meds for hypertensive emergencies, antiepileptic, and IV drugs for respiratory disorders. It also contains drugs to treat an overdose.

The third drawer should contain IV equipment, while the fourth includes airway equipment. Now to the bigger drawer, the fifth. It is designed for miscellaneous tools and larger kits for special procedures like ECG electrodes, Suction supplies, Suction Cath Kit, surgical gloves, surgical masks, and sutures.

What Are the Components of the Crash Cart？

1. Defibrillator support rotary

Its rotary movement facilitates control of the defibrillator's position. Thus, it enables easy access to the cart's contents or positioning beside the patient.

2. Oxygen tank holder

It is usually located behind or by the side of the crash cart.

3. Pocket Sharps Container

It's a puncture-resistant bin used to discard sharps like used needles, syringes, lancets, infusion needle sets, and related objects. You can use the container till it's filled, but do not overfill.

4. CPR cardiac board with support

The CPR or cardiac board is used for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A patient must lie on a firm flat surface to facilitate chest compression, thus requiring the CPR board. You'll find one behind every crash cart.

5. IV pole height adjustable

The IV pole hangs the IV bag containing fluids or meds to facilitate IV access. With the pole, healthcare workers can connect the IV bags to a tube that supplies its content to the patient's vein. It is adjustable to suit the process.

How To Maintain the Crash Cart？

Generally, the carts are rarely used. But given that they are used in emergencies, it is necessary to document the material they must include, how it must be ordered, check expiration dates, etc. So, when the time comes, everything necessary is available, minimizing the possibility of error. Given this, the crash cart must be checked on a routine basis, depending on its use. This review must be recorded. This allows for optimum control of the expiration dates of materials and medications and ensures they are available. 

Healthcare workers check the operation of instruments daily to ensure they are reliable for subsequent use. But the drugs are reviewed after each use and weekly for restocking.

Also, the hospital crash cart part must be cleaned after each use and all tool sanitized. In addition, there should always be a complete printed checklist of all contents and their expiration date attached to the cart. At the end of the review, the cart must be sealed. Seeing the sealed crash cart gives a lot of security.

Where To Buy a Suitable Crash Cart?

You can buy a medical crash cart online on medwish.com. Here are some carts with their prices:

●      The Hospital Emergency Crash Carts Trolley with Cardiac Board AG-ET001A1-850mm cost about $478.

●      The Emergency Cart TRAN-04 costs about $1,217.

●      The Hospital Cold Rolled Steel Metal Medical Trolley AG-GS003 costs about $777.

Medwish.com is an online B2B marketplace that is into sales and distribution of hospital crash carts and other clinical equipment. Our target customers are private hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies, and international agents across Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, etc. 

If you're stuck selecting a suitable crash cart for your clinical facilities, Medwish has a vast selection of this product and can customize them to your preference. Also, you get to buy these carts at the best wholesale prices.

Another attractive Medwish advantage is our multiple payments (PayPal, West Union, credit cards, L/C, etc.)  and shipping options, so you are not restricted. Also, our financing option offers the leverage to pay in installments.

Conclusion

The crash cart is an essential life-saving trolley in every medical facility. It is a mobile and compact trolley that contains every medication and tool necessary for emergency care. When buying a hospital crash cart, follow the checklist above and the maintenance guidelines.

Contact Medwish.com today for your crash carts and other clinical equipment.