P1752 Owner's Manual| REV 002.04.21.2015
April 21, 2015
Page 37
The information in this document is subject to change without notice.
More serious injuries from falls when patients climb over rails.
Skin bruising, cuts, and scrapes.
Inducing agitated behavior when bed rails are used as a restraint.
Feeling isolated or unnecessarily restricted.
Preventing patients, who are able to get out of bed, from performing routine
activities such as going to the bathroom or retrieving something from a closet.
Meeting Patients' Needs for Safety
Most patients can be in bed safely without bed rails. Consider the following:
Use beds that can be raised and lowered close to the floor to accommodate
both patient and health care worker needs.
Keep the bed in the lowest position with wheels locked.
When the patient is at risk of falling out of bed, place mats next to the bed, as
long as this does not create a greater risk of accident.
Use transfer or mobility aids.
Monitor patients frequently.
Anticipate the reasons patients get out of bed such as hunger, thirst, going to
the bathroom, restlessness and pain; meet these needs by offering food and
fluids, scheduling ample toileting, and providing calming interventions and
pain relief.
When bed rails are used, perform an on-going assessment of the patient’s physical
and mental status; closely monitor high-risk patients. Consider the following:
Lower one or more sections of the bed rail, such as the foot rail.
Use a proper size mattress or mattress with raised foam edges to prevent
patients from being trapped between the mattress and rail.
Reduce the gaps between the mattress and side rails.
Which Ways of Reducing Risks are Best?
A process that requires ongoing patient evaluation and monitoring will result in
optimizing bed safety. Many patients go through a period of adjustment to become
comfortable with new options. Patients and their families should talk to their health
care planning team to find out which options are best for them.
Patient or Family Concerns About Bed Rail Use
If patients or family ask about using bed rails, health care providers should:
Encourage patients or family to talk to their health care planning team to
determine whether or not bed rails are indicated.
Reassure patients and their families that in many cases the patient can sleep
safely without bed rails.
Reassess the need for using bed rails on a frequent, regular basis.
To report an adverse event or medical device problem, please call FDA’s Med
Watch Reporting Program at 1-800-FDA-1088.
For additional copies of this brochure, see the FDA’s