Pediatric peripheral intravenous access: does nursing experience and competence really make a difference?

• Published in: Journal of infusion nursing Vol. 33; no. 4; p. 226
• Main Authors: Larsen, Pamela, Eldridge, David, Brinkley, Jason, Newton, Dale, Goff, David, Hartzog, Timothy, Saad, Nancy Darden, Perkin, Ron
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2010
• Subjects: Catheterization, Peripheral - adverse effects; Catheterization, Peripheral - methods; Catheterization, Peripheral - nursing; Child Welfare; Child, Preschool; Clinical Competence - standards; Female; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous - adverse effects; Infusions, Intravenous - methods; Infusions, Intravenous - nursing; Logistic Models; Male; Multivariate Analysis; North Carolina; Phlebotomy; Prospective Studies; ROC Curve; Statistics as Topic; Time Factors; North Carolina
• ISSN: 1539-0667
• DOI: 10.1097/NAN.0b013e3181e3a0a8

Placement of peripheral pediatric intravenous (IV) catheters in infants and children is difficult, even in skilled hands. This large, 2-institution prospective study used real-time independent observations to describe the effect of nurse experience and competence on the length of time and the number of attempts to establish a successful IV placement in the hospitalized child. Data from a convenience sample of 592 evaluable patients and 1135 venipunctures showed that successful IV placements required an average of 2 venipunctures over 28 minutes. Although nurse experience and self-rated competence were correlated with attaining a successful IV placement, time of day, predicted difficulty of the venipuncture, and cooperativeness of the child appeared to be better predictors of success.