Forearmed is forewarned: A prospective intervention observational time-series study of patient empowerment for ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous access.

Objective: Ultrasound (US) is a valuable adjunct to improve the success rates of difficult peripheral intravenous cannula (PIVC) insertions but is usually clinician initiated. The present study assessed for any change in clinician practice resulting from interventions aimed at empowering patients to advocate for early use of US if they self-identified as having difficult PIVC access.

Methods: This was a prospective observational time-series study using a rapid quality improvement (RQI) framework.