Home Anesthesiology Accidental IV Dislodgement Reported to Be Very Common

Accidental IV Dislodgement Reported to Be Very Common

Top 3 causes were confused patient, removal of catheter by patient, tape or securement loose

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Clinicians perceive accidental dislodgement of intravenous (IV) devices to be a common occurrence, according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of the Association for Vascular Access.

Nancy Moureau, Ph.D., R.N., from PICC Excellence in Hartwell, Georgia, surveyed 1,561 clinicians online to quantitatively evaluate perceptions of the frequency, impact, contributing factors, and safety issues from accidental dislodgement affecting IV devices.

Moureau found that 68 percent of respondents reported occurrences of accidental dislodgement often, daily, or multiple times daily. The vast majority of respondents (96.5 percent) identified peripheral intravenous catheters as the most common device to accidentally dislodge. The top three contributing factors cited were confused patient (80 percent), patient physically removed catheter (74 percent), and IV catheter tape or securement was loose (65 percent). Similarly, more than 95 percent of respondents considered IV dislodgement a safety risk to patients.

“Dislodgement has clinical and economic consequences that can include time-consuming restarts, another invasive procedure, and delays in treatment,” Moureau said in a statement.

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