The unused peripheral venous catheters in hospital:findings from a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Although the removal of peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) when no longer necessary is recommended, a high number of unused PVCs has been reported. To describe the prevalence of unused PVCs and associated factors. A cross-sectional study of patients ≥ 18 years, admitted to the involved units, with a PVC, was conducted. Data on individual, PVC and clinical context was collected and its association with unused PVC was analyzed. The prevalence of unused PVCs was 26.7% (143). Patients with a PVC inserted for several days (OR = 1.08, 95%CI= 1.02-1.14), as well as patients admitted to units with a skill mix of mostly Registered Nurses (OR = 1.06; 95%CI= 1.01-1.10), were more likely to have an unused PVC. On the contrary, patients in intensive care (OR = 0.22, 95% CI= 0.07-0.68), with infectious diseases (OR = 0.33, 95% CI= 0.14-0.82) and small cannula size (OR = 0.44; 95% CI= 0.23-0.86) were less likely to have an unused PVC. The 45% of the patients had an unused PVC for ≥ 3 days. One PVC out of four was unused, and a half of the unused PVCs had not been used for at least ≥ 3 days. This data suggests that care teams assign much more importance to other clinical aspects than the risk for infection, in defining risks and benefits associated with PVC.