Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026
Transcutaneous Microcirculatory Imaging in Preterm Neonates
Published on: December 31, 2015
Randomized controlled trial of vascular access in newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit
R Mauricio Barría1, Pedro Lorca, Sergio Muñoz
1Instituto de Enfermería, Facultad de Medicina at the Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile. rbarria@uach.cl
Objective:
To compare the effectiveness of two methods of vascular access in newborns.
Design:
Randomized controlled trial.
Setting:
Neonatal intensive care unit in Regional Hospital of Valdivia, Chile.
Participants:
Seventy-four high-risk newborns.
Interventions:
Peripherally inserted central catheter and peripheral intravenous catheter.
Main Outcome Measures:
Length of neonatal intensive care unit stay and incidence of sepsis and phlebitis. RESULTS/DATA ANALYSIS: There were no statistically significant differences in the length of the neonatal intensive care unit stay and in the incidence of sepsis between groups. There was a significant higher incidence of phlebitis in the peripheral intravenous catheter group.
Conclusions:
Although there was not a significant effect of the kind of catheter on length of neonatal intensive care unit stay, the peripherally inserted central catheter is recommended because of the decreased risk of phlebitis and the decreased number of venipuncture attempts and catheters needed to complete intravenous therapy.
