Investigation on the application and retention of intravenous infusion tools in hospitalized children

Abstract

Objective To investigate the use of different tools of intravenous infusion and the issues associated with intravenous catheter indwelling in hospitalized children and to provide reference for clinical practices. Methods Using the convenient sampling method, from July 24th to 31st, 2018, the intravenous infusion treatment of children inpatients in 49 hospitals within the Beijing Children's Hospital Medical Association was selected for investigation. A self-designed Cross-sectional Questionnaire for Children's Intravenous Infusion and a photo of an intravenous infusion tool were used for data collection. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 17.0 software. Results During the data collection period, there were 18 316 hospitalized children in the 49 hospitals, among which there were 14 421 cases of infusions, with the infusions rate of 78.73%. The application rate of indwelling needle was 87.94%. The connector of venous catheter was mainly heparin cap connection (64.23%) . The infusion tools used in 6 398 cases (44.37%) were made by PVC and containing 2-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) . Aseptic transparent dressing was the main dressing choice. During catheter indwelling, there were some problems such as back-blood in the pipeline or infusion joint, incorrect clamping position of small clips, unclamping, and tube detachment. Indwelling needles had more problems than central venous catheters, including old blood returning in the tube and blood returning in the infusion connector. The difference between the peripheral indwelling needle and the central catheter was statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusions The rate of intravenous infusion in hospitalized children is relatively high. Although there are various types of intravenous infusion tools, the choice of infusion tools for children was mainly indwelling needle and heparin cap connection, and there were still room for improvement in catheter maintenance. Key words: Children; Intravenous infusion; Tool; Indwelling; Investigation