Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Duration

In an inpatient setting, the placement of peripheral intravenous catheters is one of the more routine invasive procedures that nurses perform. Maintaining intravenous access in an inpatient setting is essential for the timely administration of medication and fluids in both emergent and non-emergent care for patients. With intravenous access being one of the most invasive procedures that nurses perform, it is important to make infection prevention a priority in intravenous site management and care. In this project, I explore the instances of phlebitis, infiltration, and occlusion and how a shorter duration of a peripheral intravenous catheter compared to a current standard of duration at a local hospital can affect the instances of these common complications occurring during an inpatient stay. This topic is important to nurses because improper care of intravenous access can not only put our patients at an increased risk of infections, but it can also prevent us from being able to administer care in a timely and effective manner.