Lifespan of peripheral intravenous short catheters in hospitalized children: A prospective study.

Objective: To estimate the recommended lifespan of 223 peripheral intravenous accesses in pediatric services.

Method: In this cohort study, we monitored the time of intravenous catheter between insertion and removal in children aged up to 15 years old in a Hospital from Bogotá-Colombia. The routine catheter observations was registered in questionnaires during nursing shifts. Survival analyses were performed to analyze the lifespan of the catheter free of complications.

Results: The median lifespan of peripheral intravenous catheters without complications was 129 h (IQR 73.6-393.4 h). This median time free from complications was much lower for children ⩽1 year 98.3 h (IQR 63-141 h), than for participants aged >1 year 207.4 h (IQR 100-393 h). Catheters of 24 G (gauge) caliber had a median complication free time of 128 h (IQR 69-207 h) and 22 G calibers 144 h (IQR 103-393 h).

Conclusions: In this study, 75% of peripheral indwell catheters remained free from complications for 74 h, the other extreme 25% of these patients could remain up to 393 h.