Article

Do nurses change a child’s peripheral intravenous catheter when clinically indicated? Ann-Cathrine Bramhagen1,2, Mikael Löwenhielm2 and Ewa Idvall1,2 Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate if nurses change a child’s peripheral intravenous catheter when clinically indicated. Background: Today, inserting a peripheral intravenous catheter is a common procedure in hospital care, but this can be painful and traumatic for children. There are guidelines when to change the peripheral catheter in adults, but no similar guidelines was found concerning children. A Cochrane review from 2010 concludes that the policy should be to change the peripheral intravenous catheter when clinically indicated. This includes phlebitis, but also pain, redness, infiltration, swelling, leakage and blockage. Method: The design was prospective and observational. Daily observations were made at the hospital by one of the researchers and notes were made in a protocol. Findings: Thirty-three children with a total of 47 peripheral intravenous catheters participated, and 104 observations were made. Of the children, 42 % (14/33) developed complications. Among the children with phlebitis grade 2 and 3, the nurses did not change the peripherala intravenous catheter when clinically indicated. Conclusion: This study shows that phlebitis occurs in children with a peripheral intravenous catheter and the PIC were not changed when clinically indicated. It is the professional’s responsibility to reduce the painful experiences for children during hospital care, and more research concerning nurses ’ clinical decisions needs to be conducted