Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain?

Study objective: Our study aims to determine the incidence of unused peripheral intravenous cannulas inserted in the emergency department (ED). Methods: A retrospective cohort study using a structured electronic medical record review was performed in a 640-bed tertiary care hospital in Melbourne, Au...

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Main Authors: Limm, E., Fang, X., Dendle, C., Stuart, R., Egerton-Warburton, Diana
Format: Journal Article
Published: Mosby 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50155
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author Limm, E.
Fang, X.
Dendle, C.
Stuart, R.
Egerton-Warburton, Diana
author_facet Limm, E.
Fang, X.
Dendle, C.
Stuart, R.
Egerton-Warburton, Diana
author_sort Limm, E.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Study objective: Our study aims to determine the incidence of unused peripheral intravenous cannulas inserted in the emergency department (ED). Methods: A retrospective cohort study using a structured electronic medical record review was performed in a 640-bed tertiary care hospital in Melbourne, Australia. During a 30-day period, all patients who had a peripheral intravenous cannula recorded as a procedure on their electronic medical record in the ED were included in this study. Results: Fifty percent of peripheral intravenous cannulas inserted in the ED were unused. Patients presenting with obstetric and gynecologic and neurologic symptoms were significantly more likely to have an unused cannula. Forty-three percent of patients admitted to the hospital with unused peripheral intravenous cannulas in the ED continued to have them unused 72 hours later. Conclusion: There is a high incidence of unused peripheral intravenous cannulas inserted in the ED. The risk of having an unused peripheral intravenous cannula is associated with the patient's presenting complaint. Efforts should be directed to reduce this rate of unused peripheral intravenous cannula insertion, especially in patients being admitted, to minimize the risk of complications.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-501552017-09-13T15:50:27Z Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain? Limm, E. Fang, X. Dendle, C. Stuart, R. Egerton-Warburton, Diana Study objective: Our study aims to determine the incidence of unused peripheral intravenous cannulas inserted in the emergency department (ED). Methods: A retrospective cohort study using a structured electronic medical record review was performed in a 640-bed tertiary care hospital in Melbourne, Australia. During a 30-day period, all patients who had a peripheral intravenous cannula recorded as a procedure on their electronic medical record in the ED were included in this study. Results: Fifty percent of peripheral intravenous cannulas inserted in the ED were unused. Patients presenting with obstetric and gynecologic and neurologic symptoms were significantly more likely to have an unused cannula. Forty-three percent of patients admitted to the hospital with unused peripheral intravenous cannulas in the ED continued to have them unused 72 hours later. Conclusion: There is a high incidence of unused peripheral intravenous cannulas inserted in the ED. The risk of having an unused peripheral intravenous cannula is associated with the patient's presenting complaint. Efforts should be directed to reduce this rate of unused peripheral intravenous cannula insertion, especially in patients being admitted, to minimize the risk of complications. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50155 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2013.02.022 Mosby restricted
spellingShingle Limm, E.
Fang, X.
Dendle, C.
Stuart, R.
Egerton-Warburton, Diana
Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain?
title Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain?
title_full Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain?
title_fullStr Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain?
title_full_unstemmed Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain?
title_short Half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an Australian tertiary emergency department are unused: Pain with no gain?
title_sort half of all peripheral intravenous lines in an australian tertiary emergency department are unused: pain with no gain?
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50155