Occurrence and predisposing factors of phlebitis in patients with IV therapy

Abstract

Introduction: Catheterization is the most common invasive and stressful treatment for inpatients. In addition to pain, it may complicate the patient's life. One of these complications is phlebitis. Phlebitis is a serious complication that causes an unexpected increase in hospitalization period and treatment costs. It may cause sepsis and emboli. The accepted rate of phlebitis is 5% or less, while some studies reported the rates of 25-70 percent. The main objective of this study was to determine phlebitis rate and its predisposing factors in surgical wards of Ardabil hospitals.

Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional one. In this study, 400 cases with catheters in surgical wards of hospitals were randomly selected and studied. In this study, the peripheral catheter of patients over 12 years was studied and parameters such as demographic data, diagnosis, catheter type, drugs, solutions, catheterization period, vein, dressing type and rate of phlebitis were studied and then, the data were analyzed with SPSS.

Results: Results showed that about one-third of patients (31.9%) had catheter for 4 days. Most catheters (37%) were inserted in cephalic veins. The occurrence of phlebitis rate was 19.6 percent in 72 hr while post-infusion phlebitis rate was 16.5 percent. In most cases (85%), catheters were covered with no sterile dressing.

Conclusion: Given the high rate of phlebitis in this study, it seems necessary to conduct education on more appropriate application of catheters in patients in order to diminish phlebitis rate.