Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-kwt9d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-12T08:58:12.674Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Laterality of a short-term peripheral intravenous catheter does not affect complications or patient satisfaction: a subanalysis of the One Million Global Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2018

Rami SommersteinOpen the ORCID record for Rami Sommerstein[Opens in a new window],
Lisa Kottanattu and
Jonas Marschall
Rami Sommerstein*
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
Lisa Kottanattu
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
Jonas Marschall
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland
*
Author for correspondence: Rami Sommerstein, Infectious Diseases/Hospital Epidemiology, Freiburgstrasse, 3010 Bern, Bern University Hospital, Switzerland. E-mail: rami.sommerstein@insel.ch
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Information

Type
Letter to the Editor
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , January 2019, pp. 117 - 118
Copyright
© 2018 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved. 

To the Editor—The One Million Global Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Study (OMG PIVC) was the largest prevalence study to date on the use and management of short-term peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) in adult and pediatric inpatients from 49 countries.Reference Alexandrou, Ray-Barruel, Carr and Frost 1 The authors found that many PIVCs were placed in areas of flexion, were symptomatic or idle, had suboptimal dressings, or lacked adequate documentation, which suggested an inconsistency between recommendations in PIVC management and current practice.Reference Alexandrou, Ray-Barruel, Carr and Frost 1

Although few data are available on the effect of laterality on (peripherally inserted) central venous catheters,Reference Engstrom, Horvath and Stewart 2 – Reference Paquet, Boucher, Valenti and Lindsay 4 information is completely lacking for PIVCs. Thus, we supplemented the data from the 302 PIVCs our center contributed to the OMG PIVC study with additional variables on PIVC laterality and patient handedness. All other variables were collected as described in detail in the OMG PIVC study.Reference Alexandrou, Ray-Barruel, Carr and Frost 1

Our aim was to correlate the laterality of PIVCs placed in the upper extremity with the outcome rates of complications and patient satisfaction. We included 291 of 302 PIVCs (96.4%) that were inserted at the upper extremity and where information on laterality was available. Characteristics such as handedness, bed days at the time of data collection (April 15, 2015) and PIVC insertion position at the upper extremity (wrist and/or hand versus forearm and/or elbow) did not differ significantly depending on the laterality of the PIVC (Table 1). Also, PIVC outcomes and patient satisfaction did not depend on PIVC laterality (Table 1). Based on this, we conclude that laterality should not influence the decision regarding where to insert a PIVC at the upper extremity.

Table 1

Characteristics and Outcomes of Peripheral Intravenous Catheters Correlated With Laterality

Note. NA, not available; PIVC, peripherally inserted venous catheter.

b Likert scale response: 0=worst possible; 10=best possible.

a Determined using the χ2 and Mann-Whitney U tests, as appropriate.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the One Million Global Peripheral Intravenous Catheter (OMG PIVC) study team for the original concept and study design (Evan Alexandrou, Gillian Ray-Barruel, Niall Higgins, Steven Frost, Peter Carr, Sheila Inwood, Frances Lin, Leonard Mermel and Claire Rickard). Also, we thank the infection prevention team at Bern University Hospital for data collection.

Financial support

No financial support was provided relevant to this article.

Conflicts of interest

All authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

Footnotes

Cite this article: Sommerstein R, et al. (2019). Laterality of short-term peripheral intravenous catheter does not have an effect on complications and patient satisfaction, a sub-analysis of the One Million Global Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Study. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 2019, 40, 117–118. doi: 10.1017/ice.2018.291

References

1. Alexandrou, E, Ray-Barruel, G, Carr, PJ, Frost, SA, et al. Use of short peripheral intravenous catheters: characteristics, management, and outcomes worldwide. J Hosp Med 2018. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3039.Google Scholar
2. Engstrom, BI, Horvath, JJ, Stewart, JK, et al. Tunneled internal jugular hemodialysis catheters: impact of laterality and tip position on catheter dysfunction and infection rates. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2013;24:1295–1302.Google Scholar
3. Sperry, BW, Roskos, M, Oskoui, R. The effect of laterality on venous thromboembolism formation after peripherally inserted central catheter placement. J Vasc Access 2012;13:91–95.Google Scholar
4. Paquet, F, Boucher, LM, Valenti, D, Lindsay, R. Impact of arm selection on the incidence of PICC complications: results of a randomized controlled trial. J Vasc Access 2017;18:408–414.Google Scholar
Figure 0

Table 1Characteristics and Outcomes of Peripheral Intravenous Catheters Correlated With Laterality