The effect of saline lock on phlebitis rates of patients in cardiac care units

Effectiveness and Safety of Measures to Prevent Infections and Other Complications Associated With Peripheral Intravenous Catheters: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) contribute substantially to the global burden of infections. This systematic review assessed 24 infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions to prevent PIVC-associated infections and other complications.

METHODS

We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, WHO Global Index Medicus, CINAHL, and reference lists for controlled studies from 1 January 1980-16 March 2023. We dually selected studies, assessed risk of bias, extracted data, and rated the certainty of evidence (COE). For outcomes with 3 or more trials, we conducted Bayesian random-effects meta-analyses.

RESULTS

105 studies met our prespecified eligibility criteria, addressing 16 of the 24 research questions; no studies were identified for 8 research questions. Based on findings of low to high COE, wearing gloves reduced the risk of overall adverse events related to insertion compared with no gloves (1 non-randomized controlled trial [non-RCT]; adjusted risk ratio [RR], .52; 95% CI, .33-.85), and catheter removal based on defined schedules potentially resulted in a lower phlebitis/thrombophlebitis incidence (10 RCTs; RR, 0.74, 95% credible interval, .49-1.01) compared with clinically indicated removal in adults. In neonates, chlorhexidine reduced the phlebitis score compared with non-chlorhexidine-containing disinfection (1 RCT; 0.14 vs 0.68; P = .003). No statistically significant differences were found for other measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite their frequent use and concern about PIVC-associated complications, this review underscores the urgent need for more high-quality studies on effective IPC methods regarding safe PIVC management. In the absence of valid evidence, adherence to standard precaution measures and documentation remain the most important principles to curb PIVC complications.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION

The protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/exdb4).

Prevention and Treatment of Phlebitis Secondary to the Insertion of a Peripheral Venous Catheter: A Scoping Review from a Nursing Perspective

The objective of this work was to identify available evidence on nursing interventions for the prevention and treatment of phlebitis secondary to the insertion of a peripheral venous catheter. For this, a scoping systematic review was carried out following the guidelines in the PRISMA declaration of documents published between January 2015 and December 2020. The search took place between December 2020 and January 2021. Scielo, Pubmed, Medline, Scopus, WOS, CINHAL, LILACS, and Dialnet databases were consulted, and CASPe, AGREE, and HICPAC tools were used for the critical reading. A total of 52 studies were included to analyze nursing interventions for treatment and prevention. Nursing interventions to prevent phlebitis and ensure a proper catheter use included those related to the maintenance of intravenous therapy, asepsis, and choosing the dressing. With regard to the nursing interventions to treat phlebitis, these were focused on vigilance and caring and also on the use of medical treatment protocols. For the prevention of phlebitis, the highest rated evidence regarding asepsis include the topical use of >0.5% chlorhexidine preparation with 70% alcohol or 2% aqueous chlorhexidine, a proper hygienic hand washing, and the use clean gloves to handle connections and devices. Actions that promote the efficacy and safety of intravenous therapy include maintenance of venous access, infusion volume control, verification of signs of phlebitis during saline solution and medication administration, and constant monitoring. It is recommended to remove any catheter that is not essential. Once discharged from hospital, it will be necessary to warn the patient about signs of phlebitis after PVC removal.

Perceptions of risk factors for phlebitis among Malaysian nurses

BACKGROUND

Intravenous therapy is an integral part of professional nursing practice. Nurses have a responsibility to recognise risk factors for phlebitis.

AIMS

To investigate nurses' perceptions of risk factors for phlebitis in a tertiary teaching hospital in north-east Peninsular Malaysia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study of 199 randomly selected nurses were surveyed for their perceptions of risk factors for phlebitis using a self-administered questionnaire.

FINDINGS

More than half of the nurses (56.8%) had a good perception levels of risk factors for phlebitis. There was a significant association between the clinical area and nurses' perceptions of risk factors for phlebitis (p=0.04). Nurses working in medical, orthopaedic, and surgical areas had slightly better perceptions than nurses working in multidisciplinary and oncology areas.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that nurses need to continually improve their knowledge about risk factors for phlebitis to ensure safer nursing practice.

Vancomycin Infusion Methods on Phlebitis Prevention in Children

Background:

Hospitalized children require antibiotic therapy. The most common side effect of intravenous injections is Phlebitis. Due to high usage of Vancomycin in children and subsequent phlebitis in their intravenous lines, the current study aimed at comparing the effects of two intervention and routine vancomycin infusion methods in preventing phlebitis in hospitalized children.

Materials and Methods:

The current study is a quasi-experimental study investigating 74 individuals between ages of 1 month and 6 years undergoing treatment using vancomycin. First, 37 children, hospitalized in internal medicine ward of Isfahan Paediatrics' Hospital, Iran with vancomycin infusion orders, were placed in control group, and another 37 children were placed in the intervention group through matching with control group. The intervention group used phlebitis prevention guidelines, created by the authors, while control group used routine infusion method of the hospital. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, and statistical significance was set at 5%.

Results:

The occurrence of phlebitis was 45.90% in intervention and 89.10% in control group. Results showed that the frequency of phlebitis in intervention group was significantly lower than control group (χ²= 15.79, df = 1, p < 0.001) and the average time of phlebitis onset in control group was also significantly lower than that of the intervention group (t₇₂= 2.99, p = 0.004).

Conclusions:

According to the results, intervention vancomycin infusion method is more effective in reducing phlebitis as a result of intravenous catheter, compared to the routine vancomycin infusion method.

Locking system strengthened by biomimetic mineralized collagen putty for the treatment of osteoporotic proximal humeral fractures

The current study is to observe the effect of the locking system strengthened by biomimetic mineralized collagen putty for the treatment of senile proximal humeral osteoporotic fractures. From January 2012 to December 2015, 80 cases of senile patients with osteoporotic proximal humeral fractures were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, each group with a total of 40 cases. The control group was simply treated with locking plate. The observation group was treated with locking plate in combination with biomimetic mineralized collagen putty. The therapeutic effect thereby was observed. The excellent and satisfactory rate was 90% in observation group and was 72.5% in control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ² = 5.3312, P < 0.05). The fracture healing time was 11.82 ± 3.62 weeks in observation group and 19.78 ± 5.46 weeks in control group. The shoulder joint function score was 89.63 ± 8.12 in observation group and 76.92 ± 8.18 in control group. There was significant difference between the two groups (t = 7.1272; 12.7834, P < 0.05). The complication rate was 10% in the observation group and 32.5% in the control group (χ² = 7.3786, P < 0.05). Locking system strengthened by biomimetic mineralized collagen putty has advantages such as accelerating healing of senile proximal humeral fracture, improving the therapeutic effect, reducing the complications. As one of the optimal internal fixation method, it provides a new option for better treatment of senile osteoporotic fracture.