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Normal saline flushes performed once daily maintain peripheral intravenous catheter patency: a randomised controlled

Silvana Schreiber1, Chiara Zanchi1, Luca Ronfani2

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|January 16, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Flushing peripheral intravenous locks (IVLs) once daily with normal saline is as effective as flushing every 12 hours for maintaining catheter patency. This simplified saline flushing protocol reduces costs and patient distress.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nursing
  • Vascular Access Devices

Background:

  • Normal saline flushes are increasingly used for peripheral intravenous lock (IVL) patency.
  • Optimal flushing frequency for saline flushes remains undetermined.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the efficacy of 12-hourly versus 24-hourly normal saline flushes in maintaining peripheral IVL patency in children.
  • To assess catheter-related complications associated with different flushing frequencies.

Main Methods:

  • An open-label, non-inferiority, randomized controlled trial involving children aged 1-17 years with IVLs.
  • Participants were randomized to receive saline flushes every 12 hours (Group A) or every 24 hours (Group B).
  • The primary outcome was catheter patency maintenance.

Main Results:

  • Occlusion rates were 7.6% in the 12-hourly group and 4.5% in the 24-hourly group (p=0.21).
  • The 24-hourly flush was non-inferior to the 12-hourly flush for maintaining catheter patency (+3.1% difference, 95% CI -1.6% to 7.7%).
  • Catheter-related complications did not differ significantly between groups (12.1% vs 9.5%, p=0.42).

Conclusions:

  • A once-daily normal saline flushing protocol effectively maintains peripheral IVL patency in children.
  • Simplifying flushing to once daily reduces costs, nursing time, and catheter manipulation, minimizing patient distress.
Abstract

Keywords:
NursingNursing CarePaediatric Practice

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