Administration of 3% hypertonic saline via peripheral route: Is it really safe?

Administration of 3% sodiumchloride through a peripheral venous catheter is associated with risk of infusion-related adverse events (IRAE) due to its high osmolarity. Given this concern and the paucity of data regarding these events,many hospitals have policies that require central line administration of 3% sodiumchloride.

The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the incidence of IRAE associated with peripheral administration of 3% sodium chloride.

This analysis included patients who received 3% sodium chloride via a peripheral venous catheter between May 2017 and August 2019. The major endpoint of this analysiswas the overall incidence of IRAE, defined as the documentation of infiltration or phlebitis. Amultivariable logistic regression was performed to identify potential risk factors (e.g., age, infusion rate, infusion duration, peripheral venous catheter location, and needle gauge) for development of IRAE.

A total of 706 administrations in 422 patientswere included. Seventy-four (10.5%) administrations were associated with a documented event. Based on the Infusion Nurses grading scale for infiltration or phlebitis, 48% of the events in this analysiswere grade 1 in severity. Duration of infusion of 3% sodiumchloride was found to be associated with an increased odds of an IRAE (OR per 1 h 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.02) in the multivariable analysis. Age, infusion rate, peripheral venous catheter location, and needle gauge were not independently associated with an increased risk of an IRAE.

These data suggest that IRAE occurred more frequently when 3% sodium chloride was administered over a longer duration and themajority of events weremild with no permanent tissue injury. Itmay be reasonable to consider peripheral administration of 3% sodium chloride in the acute care setting for a short duration, although additional studies are needed to continue to evaluate its safety.