Peripheral intravenous catheter infiltration: anesthesia providers do not adhere to their own ideas of best practice.

Study Objective: To survey anesthesia providers for their opinion on "best practice" in perioperative peripheral intravenous catheter (PIV) management, and to determine if they follow those opinions.

Design: Survey instrument.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Subjects: 266 United States (U.S.) anesthesia provider respondents (attending anesthesiologists, anesthesiology residents, anesthesia assistants, certified registered nurse-anesthetists and student registered nurse-anesthetists).

Measurements: Between May 2009 and October 2010 a national survey was distributed to individuals who provide intraoperative anesthesia care to patients. Results were gathered via the SurveyMonkey database.

Main Results: 266 anesthesia providers from across the U.S. took part in the survey. The majority (70%) had less than 5 years' experience. Nearly 90% of respondents cared for a patient with an intravenous catheter infiltration at some point during their training; 7% of these patients required medical intervention. Intravenous assessment and documentation practices showed great variability. Management and documentation of PIVs was more aggressive and vigilant when respondents were asked about "best practice" than about actual management.

Conclusion: There is no commonly accepted standard for management and documentation of PIVs in the operating room. From our survey, what providers think is "best practice" in the management and documentation of PIVs is not what is being done.