Epidural catheter connectors: a laboratory-based comparison of the Portex Tuohy-Borst and EpiFuse™ designs.

Disconnection of an epidural catheter from its connector may result in patient harm and commonly requires resiting of the epidural. Clamp-connector designs such as the novel Portex EpiFuseTM potentially offer an improved safety profile over screw-cap designs such as the Tuohy-Borst, but comparative studies are limited. We therefore compared the tensile strength of EpiFuse and Tuohy-Borst connectors in a laboratory setting.We further sought to establish whether operator modification of the EpiFuse increased its vulnerability to disconnection. The median (IQR [range]) force to induce disconnection was 8.0 (4.1–12.8 [0.0–22.6]) N for Tuohy-Borst connectors and 16.4 (15.2–17.7 [5.7–18.9]) and 15.9 (15.0–16.9 [5.8–18.1]) N for standard and modified EpiFuse connectors, respectively (p < 0.0001). The Tuohy-Borst was also less likely to meet British Standard requirements (13 ⁄ 20 sets vs 19 ⁄ 20 and 20 ⁄ 20, p = 0.002). Modification of the EpiFuse did not affect lumen patency or connection strength.