Objective: To detect the presence of glass fragments that may occur during the breaking of glass ampoules. Materials and Methods: In this study, one hundred 5 mL commercially available sterile water ampoules and those prepared manually in the laboratory were opened under normal conditions, and the liquid inside the ampoules was examined for glass particle contamination. The ampoules were opened by nurses according to their usual practices. Four groups, each of which has 25 ampoules, were formed as follows: commercial ampoule with a needle and without a needle, and manually prepared ampoule with a needle and without a needle. The liquid inside the ampoule was drawn with a needle and a normal tip. The presence of glass particles was examined with scanning electron microscopy to determine their size and quantity. Results: According to the results obtained, glass particles of different sizes were detected in all groups (52.24 µm to 746.6 µm). It was observed that there were still particles in the needle groups, although they were smaller in size. Conclusion: The entry of glass particles into the circulatory system can lead to serious pathophysiological effects at both acute and chronic levels, especially in critically ill patients and neonates requiring intravenous injections. Such complications are thought be prevented by replacing all ampoules, especially those to be administered IV, with materials that will not cause microfractures or small vials.
Arın et al. (Sat,) studied this question.