Peripheral IV site: Should you change it? Or should you not?!

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to identify the effectiveness of changing peripheral IV sites every 72 hours, oppose to changing the site as clinically indicated. The method our group used to address this question was to search online databases such as Cochrane, Medline, CINAHL and PubMed to find research sources on various aspects. Several different studies were found that indicated that the optimal time to change an IV site is between 72 to 96 hours, however other studies found supported the change of peripheral IV site only as clinically indicated. Implications for better nursing practice are good documentation post-insertion of peripheral intravenous catheter to optimize nursing communication and to establish a standard routine nursing practice to reduce IV therapy complications. Changing the IV catheter when clinically indicated is what the evidence supported and new guidelines could be created accordingly; this would result in less discomfort/pain for patients, as well as lower costs for organizations.