Incidence and predisposing factors of phlebitis in a surgery department

Abstract

This paper reports on a study conducted to determine the incidence of phlebitis related to peripheral cannulae, and its predisposing factors in a general surgery department. Phlebitis is a serious health problem that affects a large proportion of hospitalized patients receiving intravenous therapy. A data collection tool was developed based on the previous literature and was completed between 15 October and 30 November 2010 in a general surgery department. All patients with peripheral cannulae who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and who agreed to participate in the study where monitored. This was a quantitative study, which used descriptive, inferential, and correlational analysis. A total of 171 patients and 286 peripheral cannulae were monitored. The average incidence of phlebitis was 61.5%, and factors such as diabetes and tobacco consumption were identified as relevant to the development of phlebitis. Other elements identified as predisposing to the development of phlebitis include administration of potassium chloride, the dwell time of the peripheral cannula, and the anatomical location of the cannula. Phlebitis associated with peripheral cannulae is still a current problem requiring knowledgeable staff who can prevent, recognize and act appropriately in a timely manner to minimize its severity.

The incidence of phlebitis in a Medical Clinical Unit

“…This association was also observed in another study. 11 Although more recent studies suggest that there is no benefit in routine replacement of PVA every 72 or 96 hours, when compared with the change indicated through clinical evaluation [12][13] the present study showed, in multivariate analysis, that the chance of phlebitis increases with longer days of retention of the PVAs. Thus, it is noticed that the retention time is a variable with a significant association with the occurrence of phlebitis.…”

“…15 There was no association between the presence of the insertion date with the occurrence of phlebitis, as verified by other authors. 16 As a limitation, it should be pointed out that other factors already related with a higher incidence of phlebitis, such as for example, type of catheter stabilization, type of medication administered, anatomical location of PVAs, infusion type (continuous or intermittent), primary pathology of the patient, frequency of medication administration 1,5,8,11,[14][15] were not analyzed in this study and may have influenced the occurrence of phlebitis.…”

Translation and adaptation of the Phlebitis Scale for the Portuguese population

“…The vast majority of PVCs with signs/symptoms of phlebitis in this study was removed within 24-48 hours (58.5%), with nurses showing good assessment and surveillance skills for the early identification of signs of phlebitis. In view of the early identification of phlebitis, with consequent PVC removal, and taking into account that the erythema is the most evident clinical sign (91.5%), the short PVC indwell time (3.5 days) is justified, a result that is similar to other studies (Furtado, 2011;Oliveira, 2014 Table 4.…”

“…When analyzing the incidence of phlebitis, taking into account all the catheters inserted in patients during their hospitalization, we found a phlebitis incidence of 35.5%, which is lower than that found in another study conducted in a population of Portuguese patients with very similar characteristics (42.4%; Oliveira, 2014) and also lower (11.5%) when the unit of analysis was the number of catheters removed due to phlebitis, with an incidence of 43% and 23.2% in other studies (Furtado, 2011;Oliveira, 2014). We believe that these results should be carefully analyzed since different phlebitis assessment tools were used.…”

“…We believe that these results should be carefully analyzed since different phlebitis assessment tools were used. The higher incidence of phlebitis was found in grade 1 (7%) and grade 2 (3%), which is a lower percentage in grade 2 than that found by Oliveira (2014), and Furtado (2011;35.1% and 38.8%), respectively. Although these studies have used different scales, the clinical criterion in grade 2 includes the same signs and/or symptoms.…”