Prevalence of peripheral intravenous catheter-related phlebitis: associated factors

Abstract

Background: Phlebitis is a major adverse event. It has a high prevalence, ranging from 25.8% to 55.6%, which makes it an epidemiologically relevant phenomenon. Objective: To identify the prevalence of peripheral intravenous catheter-related phlebitis in patients admitted to a hospital unit in the North region of Portugal in May 2017, as well as to analyze its associated risk factors. Methodology: Prospective cohort study. Data were collected in May 2017 at a hospital unit in the North region of Portugal using the Portuguese version of the Phlebitis Scale, as well as patients' medical records for the collection of sociodemographic and clinical data. The sample was composed of 58 patients. Results: The participants had a mean age of 64 years, 53.4% of them were women, and the mean dwell time of the peripheral venous catheter (PVC) was 3.25 days. The prevalence of phlebitis was 36.7%, with a predominance of Grade 1 phlebitis (63%). Conclusion:The occurrence of phlebitis was associated with the PVC dwell time. Further studies and interventions should be conducted to raise nurses' awareness of the importance of assessing the type and severity of phlebitis.

A Model of Phlebitis Associated with Peripheral Intravenous Catheters in Orthopedic Inpatients

“…Phlebitis is characterized by inflammation of the vein wall and can be accompanied by symptoms such as edema, pain, and erythema near the catheter insertion site or along the affected vein, sometimes progressing to palpable venous cord, intense redness, tenderness, and fever [7]. Factors affecting the incidence of phlebitis can be classified into individual factors, such as sex [8], age [9], underlying health conditions such as infectious or hypertensive disease and surgery [8], and caregiver residence [10]; chemical factors, such as the osmolality of the injected drug [11], number of medications [12], type of antibiotics [13], and rate and method of drug injection [14]; mechanical factors, such as catheter dwell time, which can cause friction due to intravascular movement of the catheter [15], catheter insertion site [15,16], and catheter size [12]; and infectious factors, such as hand hygiene of health professionals [17] and nurse’s skill in administering intravenous injection [18].…”

Incidência e tipo de traumatismo vascular periférico em pessoas submetidas a exames de diagnóstico por imagem

“…The peripheral venipuncture performed predominantly in the left upper limb in both cohorts can be due to the disposition of the furniture in the service room because the table for support of materials used for puncture is located to the left side of the puncture chair, or due to patient preference. The search for visible, palpable veins of medium/large caliber, with a straight path, allows to the professional a higher probability of successful punctures, also indicating their predominance (Nobre & Martins, 2018;Oliveira et al, 2019). The choice of the peripheral venous catheter of larger caliber is justified by the particularities of examinations because the contrast media are administered with high flow (up to 5 mL/second), especially in CT scans, in which the volume reaches 100mL (Acauan & Rodrigues, 2015).…”

A segurança do paciente no contexto das flebites notificadas em um hospital universitário

“…Estudos citam que outras doenças associadas, como a DM, contribuem para o desenvolvimento de flebite e encontraram associação significativa em pacientes com diagnóstico de DM devido a alterações no sistema circulatório causadas por esta comorbidade. 16,[20][21][22] Para atenuar a ocorrência de flebite nesses pacientes, sugere-se a realização da identificação prévia de portadores de comorbidades como a DM, alertando a equipe sobre a maior atenção aos cuidados de prevenção de flebite. A educação em saúde também pode ser realizada com esses pacientes para oferecer conhecimento sobre os sinais de alerta da ocorrência de flebite, e assim facilitar a identificação precoce do evento adverso e minimizar as complicações.…”

“…Intervenções como higienização das mãos, antissepsia do local de inserção, avaliação contínua do AVP, lavagem dos AVPs antes e após infusão de medicamentos, identificação precoce de fatores de risco e cuidados específicos no preparo, administração e na vigilância da ação medicamentosa são fatores que influenciam na ocorrência de flebites, o que ressalta a importância desses cuidados. 16 Uma das limitações do estudo é o caráter observacional descritivo, que não permitiu o acompanhamento da ocorrência das flebites notificadas, apenas a identificação pós-flebite. Outro ponto limitador foi a análise das notificações voluntárias, o que restringiu a coleta de informações referentes ao tipo de cateter, local, tempo de permanência e grau da flebite, pois estas não estavam presentes na notificação e, frequentemente, ausentes nos registros dos prontuários.…”