Children admitted in a ward often require a peripheral intravenous catheter to provide access for administration of medications, nutrients, fluids, blood products. Vascular access in children is a frequent and stressful procedure that should be performed as infrequently as possible in order to reduce the child's pain experience and the child's and family's level of distress. The maintenance of patency of indwelling catheters is therefore relevant to minimize need for replacement and children discomfort. Recent studies investigated the most effective and safe method of maintaining peripheral intravenous lock (peripheral IVL) in children. Most of these studies focused primary on the use of heparin versus saline flushes, showing similar efficacy of the two approaches. To the best of the investigators knowledge no study addressed the issue of the optimal flushing frequency of normal saline . The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of normal saline flushes, at 12 and 24 hours intervals.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
400
Placement of a sterile plug (MicroClave ICU Medica, a neutral displacement connector) on the needle cannula and flushing with positive pressure with saline solution (BD PosiFlush XS Syringes, filled with 3 ml of saline)
Emergency Department, IRCCS Burlo Garofolo
Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Number of participants with peripheral intravenous catheter patency
Patency was defined as the possibility of flushing the cannula with a 3 ml Becton Dickinson syringe filled with 3 ml of normal saline in less than 20 seconds without resistance at infusion, pain or erythema
Time frame: Until catheter use (i.e. drug infusion) or removal (catether related complication or no further need of use), with an expected avarage of 48 hours
Number of participants with blood extravasation
Presence of blood extravasation in the site of catheter insertion, defined as the presence of changes in the site's appearence and temperature (i.e. edema, blanching, coolness) at the time of nurse's evaluation
Time frame: Until catheter use (i.e. drug infusion) or removal (catether related complication or no further need of use), with an expected avarage of 48 hours
Number of participants with pain
Any pain at the site of catheter insertion referred by patients to nurses
Time frame: Until catheter use (i.e. drug infusion) or removal (catether related complication or no further need of use), with an expected avarage of 48 hours
Number of participants with skin redness
Presence of skin redness at the site of catheter insertion at the time of nurse's evaluation
Time frame: Until catheter use (i.e. drug infusion) or removal (catether related complication or no further need of use), with an expected avarage of 48 hours
Number of participants with swelling
Presence of swelling in the site of catheter insertion at the time of nurse's evaluation
Time frame: Until catheter use (i.e. drug infusion) or removal (catether related complication or no further need of use), with an expected avarage of 48 hours
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