Success rates for peripheral i.v. insertion in a children's hospital. Financial implications

Although many publications have demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of using i.v. nurse specialists with adult patients, very few have explored this topic in the pediatric population. Many agencies choose to use staff RNs and physicians, with minimal training and experience, to place i.v.s in both pediatric and adult patients. This article demonstrates i.v. insertion success rates for various healthcare providers: staff RNs, physicians, and an i.v. nurse specialist in an urban pediatric hospital. The number of unsuccessful i.v. attempts for each group is calculated and further applied to costs of labor and equipment. From the data presented in this article, it may be concluded that the use of one or more i.v. specialist nurses for placement of peripheral i.v.s in children is more cost effective than using staff RNs or physicians for provision of this service. These data were collected while the author was the i.v. nurse clinician at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.