Effectiveness of an IV Protection Device in Pediatric Patients on Catheter Dwell Time & Phlebitis Score
Abstract:
Purpose:
The study aimed to examine the efficacy of the I.V. House UltraDressing for protecting peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) in pediatric patients.
Methods:
This randomized controlled trial comprised 60 pediatric patients (aged 2e24 months): 30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group. The PIVC dwell time and phlebitis scores were also reported for both groups. The degree of phlebitis was determined using the Visual Infusion Phlebitis Scale (VIPS) and was recorded every 8 hours from the start of antibiotic therapy until catheter removal.
Results:
The mean catheter dwell time in the experimental group (2.10 ± 1.55 days) was significantly longer than that in the control group (1.27 ± 0.45 days) (p < .01). However, there were no significant differences between the scores and signs of phlebitis in both groups (p > .05).
Conclusion:
The I.V. House UltraDressing is a useful device that can be used to increase catheter dwell time and protect and stabilize PIVCs in pediatric patients.
The I.V. House UltraDressing is a useful device that can be used to increase catheter dwell time and protect and stabilize PIVCs in pediatric patients. This provides additional evidence-based support for the prolonged use of the I.V. House UltraDressing as a safe, easyto-use, and effective device to protect or manage PIVCs in pediatric patients. This could be further improved by studying additional variables in the future (e.g., age, overweight/dehydrated, or different vein status) to provide more conclusive evidence about the efficacy of the I.V. House UltraDressing in a wider range of pediatric settings. In addition, it has been recommended that the efficacy of this device for protecting PIVCs should be assessed when pediatric nurses or parents deliver basic care (e.g., dressing and bathing). However, it is also important to assess the conditions such as the lack of access to each institution and the cost factor.
© 2019 Korean Society of Nursing Science, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).