ISO 80369-20 changed
the game for enteral feeding devices market globally. Industries prepare for
restocking of upgraded versions at full pace.
Universal luer connectors has been the prodigal child in the enteral feeding devices industry. Inadvertent misuse caused by human or professional error claimed several lives before experts could realize the need for reconsidering its design. Once a cheap and handy tube, that fulfilled multiple purposes in the surgical room and later, became the apple of discord.
The ISO 80369 test series ended up with a whole new protocol that brings news, both good and bad, for healthcare industry. The ISO 80369-20 sets compulsory regulations to adopt differentiated patient delivery systems for each application in the healthcare services.
Enteral feeding devices in healthcare
Enteral feeding devices, for the non-informed, aid direct injection of liquid nutrition and/or medicines into a functioning gastrointestinal tract. Given the number of bedridden patients reported each day ailing from chronic illness as well as under critical post-surgery conditions, their demand has only gained momentum. We have a variety of tubes, pumps, sets, syringes along with other accessories that complete the list for these devices. The insertion route selected, whether nasal, oral, or percutaneous further defines types of connectors and catheters. Bore-size and material used are critical factors with regard to the patient age group. Right from neo-natal to geriatric patients, the specifications differ in substantial contexts.
Enteral feeding over other methods
Research studies reveal that early enteral feeding for cases where volitional intake was not possible produce improved overall results in adults and children alike. Parenteral delivery was only recommended as a complementary procedure for noted malnutrition in later stages. The detailed analysis of medical conditions following pediatric and geriatric post-operative feeding regimes exhibited positive trends.
Healthcare facilities noted that fulfillment of recommended procedural requirements, successfully reduced cases of hospital acquired infection, patient readmission, post-operative weight loss, and device-induced infections. Thus, the method takes center-stage in post-surgical care.
Concerns with enteral feeding devices
On any normal day in an ICU or CCU, it is easy to locate more than twenty connectors for a single casualty. To err is human, and when complicated mesh of tubes and catheters that use same connectors, the probability to err is even higher. These critical care scenarios are to be supervised by experts only, which is usually not the case though. Hospital attendants and nurses burdened by fatigue, are the ones who change the food bags, gas tubes etc. Misconnections do occur, causing no, trivial, or critical harm to the patients. Certainly, most of them go unreported.
Apart from the catheter connector issues, the insertion technique has also had its issues in the long run. The evaluative method of insertion of assistive devices is more of a ‘guess-based’ approach. Patients suffer through pain and discomfort if the procedure has to be repetitively carried out. Besides, there are always chances of misplacement of the tubes far into the jejunum or duodenum. Advanced implementation of a real-time visuals during placement reduces time, risks, and the need for any confirmatory radiography.
ISO 80369: the protagonist or antagonist?
ISO 80369 testing standards goes ahead to bring new laws for the healthcare industry. The research has come a long way hinting each level of change required to the relevant vertical all along it timeline. Yet, the transition is major, and industry players are not completely prepared for the same. Manufacturers need to work on varying designs, sizes, and materials to ‘make the non-related delivery equipment incompatible in connectivity.’
This should definitely be seen in positive light of patient safety as well as availability of new growth opportunities for new market entrants. The adoption rate depending upon legal forces, added to maintenance of credibility among medical facilities, unpredictable demand is expected in near future. Communication would be the key to all development activities. Medical practitioners, suppliers, and manufacturers need to interactively communicate their inputs to ensure that product development is on the right track.
Market structure
Population of patients in need of intensive care increase proportionally with incidences of neurological, oncological, and gastrointestinal disorders at a global scale. The industry experiences widespread demands for pediatric and geriatric healthcare segments, although, demand for adults take a positive incline towards the end of this decade. In spite of rising preference for care units installed in home settings, hospitals would continue being the highest revenue generating segment for the time being.
Analysts at Allied Market Research predict the enteral feeding devices market size to reach $ 2,846.7 million by 2020, at a CAGR of 5.6% during 2015-2020, in their recently published report “World Enteral Feeding Devices Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2014 – 2020.” The report is an in-depth analysis of the existing market structure on the basis of key drivers and limiting factors. It takes into account various segments by type, application, end-usage and target age group to analyze current and future financial ratios. A high-value reference content from the stakeholders’ perspective.
