THE FREQUENCY AND CAUSES OF COMPLICATIONS THE PERIPHERAL VEINS CATHETERIZATION

Abstract

Peripheral vein catheterization is the most common invasive hospital procedure, which, however, may be accompanied by the development of various complications.The aim of the study was to assess the frequency of complications associated with peripheral vein catheterization, and to compare two types of peripheral catheters in surgical patients.Materials, methods and results. The study was conducted at the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at the National Cancer Institute. The study included 122 patients of both sexes who were scheduled for surgery. In the operating room with compliance of the aseptic rules the peripheral veins of the patients upper extremities were catheterized. Intravenous catheters of two types were used for catheterization of the peripheral vein: made of fluoroethylenepropylene (FEP) (FEP IV CannulaVogt Medical with wings and port, size 16-18 G) and of polyurethane (PU) (PU IV CannulaVogt Medical with wings, size 16-18 G) according to the diameter of the punctured vein. The frequency of complications was investigated and the causes of problems with catheterization of peripheral veins were considered. The clinical manifestations of phlebitis were evaluated on the Infusion Nurses Society Phlebitis Scale (INS) scale. The total complication rate in our study was significantly different between the two groups and amounted to 32.6% in gr. 1 and only 7% in gr. 2.Conclusion. The study shows that one of the risk factors may be the design of the instrument and the material from which the peripheral catheter is made. Despite the positive characteristics of both catheters, the impact of which we investigated in our work, the use of PU catheters contributes to reducing the number of complications and increases the duration of their use compared to FEP catheters.