Monitoring i.v.-site infections

Preventing intravenous (IV) site infections is one of nursing's ongoing challenges. When nurses at the Western Regional Health Centre (WRHC) in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, noted an increase in the size of the bore-hole site on the removal of IV cannulas, they questioned whether or not their patients were at risk of infection. They then designed a research study in an attempt to identify which variables lead to peripheral intravenous infection.