[Peripheral venous catheterization: influence of catheter composition on the occurrence of thrombophlebitis]

Infusion thrombophlebitis is a common troublesome complication of intravenous therapy. This study compared peripheral intravenous Teflon and Vialon catheters. The incidence of phlebitis, bacterial adherence and mechanical resistance (distortion) were assessed on 170 catheters, 85 of each type. The Vialon catheter resulted in less phlebitis than the Teflon one (18 vs. 35; p less than 0.01). During the period 49 to 72 h after the insertion of the catheter, the risk of phlebitis in the Teflon group was twice that in the Vialon group. The study of bacterial adherence using a semi-quantitative culture method demonstrated that 9.0% of the catheters were infected with Staphylococcus epidermidis. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (5.7% Vialon group vs. 12.5% Teflon group). The Teflon catheters were much more distorted than vialon catheters: 1.7% vs. 55.7% in the macroscopic study; 1.75% vs. 8.2% in the microscopic study. As Vialon softens at body temperature, it would seem likely that it generates a lesser degree of endothelial injury, explaining the lower rate of phlebitis with Vialon catheters.