Forum topic

Our Venipuncture and IV Therapy Protocol states:

• The nurse caring for the patient will be allowed 2 venipuncture attempts. If unsuccessful, a second person should be consulted to attempt the venipuncture
• The second person consulted for an IV start should have more experience than the first person(this is usually a resource nurse from that floor)This person should attempt a venipuncture 1 time. If unsuccessful, staff from a specialty area (Vascular Access, PICU, ICN, ED, Transport, Sedation Team) should be notified.
• Staff from the specialty area should attempt the venipuncture 2 times. If the blood is not obtained or the IV is not started, the patient's physician should be notified
• The resident physician will contact the attending physician and they will reassess the need for immediate IV access
• If an IV is necessary after consultation with the attending, the resident will write an Anesthesia consultation and personally notify the anesthesiologist on call

To secure our PIV, we use tegaderm and tape (to chevron). We do not have problems with dislodgements. I have only used statlock on PICC lines and was not a fan. They are bulky, hard to remove and place. We now use SorbaView Sheild on these lines and have less complications. These do not come in a small enough size for pediatric PIVs, but our tegaderm and tape is doing the job for less cost.

Tammy Lightner

Nurse Manager Vascular Access

Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics

Kansas City, MO