New ways of improving the effectiveness of dressings and securements for the prevention of peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) failure in adults is urgently required.
This is according to Professor Claire Rickard from the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research, a part of Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland, following new research published in The Lancet medical journal.
PIVCs are the most common invasive medical devices used in hospitals. Around 2 billion devices are sold globally each year, and most patients who are admitted to hospital require intravenous therapy.
PIVC failure is unacceptably common: up to 69 per cent of devices require removal due to dislodgement, pain, occlusion, leakage or infection.
“PIVC failure can lead to pain and anxiety, interrupted therapy, and morbidity and mortality associated with infection, and additional procedures are often needed to replace catheters, all of which substantially increases healthcare costs and workload,” says Professor Rickard.
The National Health and Medical Research Council funded the research which took place in Brisbane at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and
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