Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

A Novel Approach for the Administration of Medications and Fluids in Emergency Scenarios and Settings
Published on: November 9, 2016
Rural EMS en route IV insertion improves IV insertion success rates and EMS scene time
Richard P Gonzalez1, Glenn R Cummings, Charles B Rodning
1Department of Surgery, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA. rgonzalez@usouthal.edu
Background:
Emergency medical service (EMS) personnel are trained to insert intravenous (IV) lines at trauma scenes if the time for insertion does not prolong scene time. However, EMS providers continue to insert IV lines on scene.
Methods:
A rural EMS provider provided trauma patient EMS IV insertion data for a 1-year period. No IV lines were inserted en route during this period. During the following 1-year period, a prospective trauma patient study protocol was instituted in which all IV insertions were attempted while en route to the emergency room.
Results:
Three hundred six trauma patients had IV attempts on scene, and 341 trauma patients had IV insertion attempts en route. The average EMS on-scene time with IV insertions on scene was 19.8 minutes (IV insertion success, 79%) compared with 13.9 minutes (IV insertion success, 93%) on-scene time with IV insertions en route.
Conclusions:
EMS IV insertion en route significantly decreases on-scene time and improves IV insertion success rates.
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