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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2006;295:1889.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Seeking to reduce the occurrence of hospital bed entrapments, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published guidelines that include design recommendations for manufacturers of new hospital beds and suggestions for assessing existing beds (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/beds/guidance/1537.html). This guidance is the result of a partnership between the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Canada's Medical Devices Bureau, representatives from national health care organizations and provider groups, patient advocacy groups, and medical bed and equipment manufacturers.

The document also characterizes the body parts at risk for becoming caught between parts of a hospital bed, identifies potential entrapment areas, and provides information about reporting adverse events. The FDA has received nearly 700 entrapment reports over the past 21 years. In these events, 413 people died and 120 were injured.

New guidelines describe 7 danger zones of hospital beds where patients can become trapped, as well as . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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