What is a Crash Cart Trolley?

A set of trays, chest of drawers, shelves on wheels are often defined as a crash cart trolley that transports hospital essentials or medications for life support or to save someone's life. The original crash cart trolley was designed in the year 1965. To empower the doctors and medical staff more efficiently, the crash cart trolley's invention made its way. It can be considered one of the OT equipment essentials that bring immediate care to patients' bedside at emergencies.

As technology and medicine evolve continuously, so does the structure of the crash cart and its capabilities. The contents of the cart depend upon the types of patients treated and cared for. For example, an examination table may need different crash cart items than a crash cart beside the electric ICU bed. While the crash cart contents may not be the same, the purpose is always to see the patients comfort. The crash cart carries the most essential and standard supplies needed during the operation or treatment.

Hospitals with emergency rooms, outpatient surgery centres, diagnostic testing facilities, etc., have crash cart readily available beside every patient examination table or in the respective spaces.

Arrangement of the crash cart trolley

A crash cart trolley's primary use is to transport the supplies to a doctor or a nurse to save a patient's life. Every life-saving device or tool must be necessarily available in the cart so that the patient is treated without any delay in an emergency. Asking for supplies, searching in the drawers in and out can make a difference between life and death.

The hospital staff should label every cart design with the contents it contains or prefer short carts for easy and quick access. The hospital furniture manufacturer can customize the crash cart as per the needs of the medical care centre. While the design and placements may vary, the crash carts will have casters with wheels and locking mechanisms for better mobility.

There are three dimensions of the crash cart- the top, sides and the back. A checklist is kept on the cart for the nurses to check and refill if anything is missing. It is necessary to verify all the items on the checklist with the sheet to record patient vital signs and medications needed during the procedure. The top of the crash cart trolley always has the heart monitor and defibrillator. Depending upon the patients need, other items like a full oxygen tank, CPR board, removable suction unit, stethoscope, IV fluid bags, etc., can hang on the back of the cart.

Following are the basic and standard list of items typically found in the cart drawers according to the frequency of their use and space in the cart.

A heart defibrillator is immediate care for a cardiac patient; therefore, the top drawers are most likely to have the airway management equipment. Next would be the pre-dripping mixes that contain the most common medications that a patient would need. The third drawer has the IV fluids and access supplies with plenty of scissors, catheters, needles, etc. The other drawers may contain blood pressure cuffs, kits, medications stocked, anaesthesia bag, and other additional fluids as per requirement.

Let it be an ICU room or a patient examination table; every room in the hospital needs a crash cart trolley with all the above supplies.