Australian research into IV catheter protocol improves patient care
Previous consensus to replace IV catheters every 3 days was found to be unnecessary, costly and damaging.
Researchers at Griffith University’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland (QLD, Australia) have overturned decades-old medical advice that intravenous (IV) catheters should be replaced every three days. The team, let by Professor Claire Rickard, Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (Griffith University), found that routine replacement was affecting patient wellbeing and satisfaction as it was painful, damaging to blood-vessels and time-consuming.
IV catheters have a failure rate of up to 69%, often caused by irritation, infection and inflammation. The results of Rickard’s study, which looked at over 3,300 patients, had already led to protocol changes in Europe, the USA, New Zealand and Australia, and could save healthcare providers hundreds of millions of dollars.