Abstract

Prolonging the duration of peripheral venous catheters (PVC) as long as possible in children is a nursing priority. However, available studies provide conflicting evidence on what kind of flush solution should be used to increase the life of PVCs in children. <h3>Goal</h3> To compare the effectiveness of Normal Saline (NS) vs Heparin solution (HS) in maintaining the patency of PVCs in hospitalised children. <h3>Methods</h3> Single blind randomised controlled trial. The study compares two solutions used to flush PVCs between an access and another: NS only (group A) vs a solution of Heparin 50 U/ml in NS (HS) (group B). Subjects are children 2 to 14 with a G22 or G24 PVC, undergoing iv therapy twice-in-day, without coagulation problems and taking no immunosoppresant or steroidal drugs. Recruited subjects are randomised in either group using a randomization list. The sample numerosity was set at 26 per group. The outcomes evaluated are: PVC duration on site in hours; onset of complication. Preliminary results. So far 18 children have been recruited (9 group A, 9 group B). The two groups do not differ statistically with regards to age, sex, location and number of access to PVC. Mean duration of CVPs is 31.4 h in group A and 120.2 h in group B (p = 0.004). Complications have arisen in 88.9% of subjects in group A and 44.4% in group A (p = 0.06). <h3>Discussion</h3> Preliminary data show a relevant difference in PVCs flushed with HS. The study will continue until the numerosity of 52 subjects is reached.

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