Use of vein‐viewing device to assist intravenous cannulation decreases the time and number of attempts for successful cannulation in pediatric patients

Abstract

Every child who contacts a healthcare setting has a potential for intravenous cannulation (IV) procedure and related pain, fear, and distress. Many of the healthcare professionals recognize that there is a lack of intervention to prevent multiple cannulation attempts and to reduce pain and distress inflicted to children during IV cannulation. A quasi‐experimental study was undertaken in pediatric patients to study the effect of a vein‐viewing device (VTorch) on IV cannulation procedure. The number of cannulation attempts and time taken for successful cannulation were assessed with the use of this device (experimental group, n = 159) and compared it with the standard procedure (control group, n = 159). The effect of this device in cannulation associated pain, fear, and behavioral distress were also evaluated among these children. Using Vein‐viewing device as an aid for IV cannulation significantly reduced the time taken for cannulation ( P  = .003) and the number of cannulation attempts ( P  = .03). In addition, there was a significant increase in the first‐attempt cannulation success rate with the use of this device ( P  = .04). The use of vein‐viewing device did not have any direct effect on cannulation associated pain, fear, or behavioral distress among the study participants. The results of this study may aid in improving the quality of intravenous access procedure in pediatric patients.