WIDMER AF, WITSCHI A, GRABER P, FREI R; Infection Control Team; Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (43rd: 2003: Chicago, Ill.).
Abstr Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother Intersci Conf Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2003 Sep 14-17; 43: abstract no. K-2041.
University of Basel Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
BACKGROUND: The incidence of complication increases with the prolonged use of peripheral intravenous catheters, but it is unclear whether changing catheters every three to four days, as some recommend, will reduce the rate of phlebitis, infection or obstruction. Two observational studies demonstrated that prolonged use of peripheral catheters appears to be safe. We initiated a randomized controlled clinical trial to compare the risks of peripheral catheters with scheduled replacement every 3 days with catheters remaining in place as long as they were clinically necessary or had evidence for complications. METHODS: Patients with peripheral intravenous catheters were randomized on day 3 of catheterization in group A (no replacement) and group B (routine replacement every 3 days). High risk patients with difficult to access veins and frequently damaged skin from chemotherapy and/or corticosteroids frequently refused to participate. They were included as group C to adjust for selection of low-risk patients in this study. All catheters were regularly checked by a study nurse, and catheters were routinely cultured by both the roll-plate and sonication technique. RESULTS: A total of 1116 catheters from 957 patients were included in the study; 216 in group A, 202 in group B, and 539 in group C. [table: see text]. CONCLUSION: Routine change of peripheral catheters did not reduce the rate of complications.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Catheterization
- Catheterization, Peripheral
- Clinical Trials as Topic
- Communicable Diseases
- Humans
- Incidence
- Infection
- Infection Control
- Phlebitis
- Replantation
- instrumentation
- surgery
Other ID:
UI: 102265327
From Meeting Abstracts