Reducing pressure injuries in children caused by peripheral intravenous cannulae
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Reducing pressure injuries in children caused by peripheral intravenous cannulae

Lynn Maree Thom Registered nurse, children’s and adolescent ward, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Janelle James-McAlpine Research fellow, James Cook University, Cairns Clinical School, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Why you should read this article:
  • To be aware that peripheral intravenous cannulae (PIVC) are a common cause of medical device-related pressure injuries in hospitalised children

  • To identify how a change in PIVC securement methods reduced the incidence of PIVC-related pressure injuries on one general children’s ward in an Australian hospital

  • To recognise that education of nursing staff about PIVC-related pressure injuries is vital in reducing incidence

Medical devices such as peripheral intravenous cannulae (PIVC) are commonly used in the care of children across all hospital settings. However, the association between PIVC and the development of pressure injuries in this population became a concern on one Australian paediatric ward. A quality improvement project was conducted to reduce the incidence of pressure injuries in children caused by PIVCs. A tubular bandage and microfoam surgical tape were introduced to replace crepe bandage PIVC securement. At the same time, education was provided to alert nurses to medical device-related pressure injuries and the PIVC securement changes. The introduction of the tubular bandage and staff education improved skin inspections of PIVCs and decreased the incidence of pressure injuries from these devices.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2022.e1420

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

lynn.thom@health.qld.gov.au

Conflict of interest

None declared

Thom LM, James-McAlpine J (2022) Reducing pressure injuries in children caused by peripheral intravenous cannulae. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2022.e1420

Published online: 19 April 2022

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