‘Pinholes in my arms’: The vicious cycle of vascular access

Background: Vascular access devices (VADs) are essential for delivery of intravenous therapies. There are notable gaps in the literature regarding a focus on patient experience and meaning-making related to living with a VAD, specifically a central venous access device (CVAD). Aims: To explore how patients make sense of living with a CVAD. Methods: This study followed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. Purposive sampling was used to identify 11 cancer patients who had a CVAD in situ. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were performed. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed by the lead author. Findings: Four superordinate themes were identified: the self under attack; being rescued/being robbed; protection of others/protection of self; bewilderment and dismay at lack of staff competence. Conclusion: Having a CVAD affects the psychological, social, and personal self and impacts on self-esteem and self-image. Despite this, CVADs are accepted by patients and are eventually ‘embodied’ by them.

It is possible to create a vascular access team in a middle resource country? Experience of Hevi Paediatric Teaching Hospital at DUHOK – IRAQ

Background: Vascular access devices are critically important for the treatment of neonates and paediatric patients. Vascular cannulation is a key clinical skill for healthcare professionals working in the neonatal and paediatric wards. The creation of specialised Teams dedicated to the positioning of Vascular Venous Accesses is increasingly used and of fundamental importance for good patients care. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a training intervention for the staff of the Intensive Care Units for the insertion of the short/long peripheral catheter and to create a NuVa Team (Nurse-led Vascular Access Team). Methods: At the Hevi Paediatric Teaching Hospital, a course and an on-the-job training programme were carried out for two doctors and six nurses on the insertion of the in long peripheral catheters newborns and paediatric patients admitted at the hospital. The data collected were analysed from April 2017 to December 2020. A pre and post-procedure study was designed to determine whether establishing the Nurses Vascular Accesses Team (NuVa) is associated with higher success rates and a reduced risk of catheter-related complications. Results: A total of 271 Leader-cath™ catheters were placed during the study period. The mean age at catheters insertion was 2.9 years, the mean residence time was 11.7 days. Most catheters were inserted by five nurses ( n = 216 (80%)); the remainder was entered by two paediatricians ( n = 55 (20%)), p = 0.001. General reasons for removal were home discharge ( n = 103 (38%)), deceases ( n = 81 (30%)), accidental causes ( n = 43 (16%)), leg/arm oedema ( n = 21 (8%)), mechanical problems ( n = 10 (3.5%)), physician’s indication ( n = 9 (3%)) and skin infection ( n = 4 (1.5%)), p = 0.001. Conclusions: The standardisation of the procedure for inserting the catheters placement and the creation of a NuVa Team has been of fundamental importance in gaining awareness of the procedure and allows healthcare professionals to insert the catheter without complications.

The effect of chemotherapy type and timing among the other factors on patency of totally implantable vascular access devices in colorectal carcinoma

Purpose: Catheter-related complications are observed in infusion of chemotherapy, and these were encountered with targeted therapies. Our principle is to study non-mechanical effects of type and initiation time of chemotherapy among the other factors on patency of totally implantable vascular access devices (TIVAD) inserted in patients with colorectal carcinoma. Methods: This is a one-center retrospective cohort study. We analyzed TIVAD related complications in 624 patients with colorectal carcinoma. The patients were categorized by chemotherapy type (non-target-directed chemotherapy agents (Group A), bevacizumab (Group B), and cetuximab (Group C)). Additionally, we divided the patients into groups by the time interval between TIVAD insertion and chemotherapy initiation. According to our study, a 3-day period was optimal. Therefore, we named the groups as within 3 days and beyond 3 days, and called this process 3 days cut-off. Age, gender, jugular-subclavian access, platelet count, INR, the types of chemotherapy, and the initiation time of chemotherapy were investigated by survival tests. We compared chemotherapy type groups both one-by-one and combined into one group. Results: The TIVADs were removed due to the complications in 11 patients of Group A, 6 patients of Group B, and 3 patients of Group C. Only chemotherapy type was significant ( p = 0.011) in Cox regression test. A clear difference ( p = 0.010) was detected between the catheter patency of Group A and combination of Groups B and C, because of skin necrosis and thrombosis. Within 3 days of their first chemotherapy day, an important difference between Group A and Group C ( p = 0.013) was observed in the TIVAD patency. The same observation was made between Group A and Group B ( p = 0.007). Beyond this period, no major difference was detected ( p = 0.341). Conclusion: A major effect on catheter patency was detected by using the target-directed chemotherapy agent within 3 days, which should be considered in target-directed chemotherapy.

Patient-reported outcome and experience measures for peripheral venous catheters: a scoping review protocol

Purpose: The purpose of this scoping review is to conduct a systematic search and establish the current state of evidence for tools and instruments used to measure self-reported outcomes and experiences, including satisfaction scores, specifically for peripheral venous access devices (PVADs). Methods: A systematic search of the literature will be conducted using medical databases including: MEDLINE (Ovid); CINAHL (EbscoHost); PubMed (NCBI); and Scopus (Elsevier); Google (Scholar); and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Experimental, and observational studies, published in English, after 1990 will be eligible for inclusion if they: consist of (i) a survey, instrument or tool that is designed to (ii) collect outcome, experience and/or satisfaction data, relating to PVAD insertion, care, maintenance and/or removal, among (iii) adult and paediatric participants. Conclusions: PVAD-specific patient-reported outcome and experience measures are necessary for researchers, clinicians and policy decision makers to explore more thoroughly the quality of PVAD care provided, and further inform health economic analyses in the context of quality improvement interventions for vascular access devices. This scoping review will establish the existence—or paucity—of instruments to measure these selfreported outcomes and experiences of PVADs, in order to guide value-based healthcare delivery into the future.

PIVC Best Practices: A Path to Performance Improvement

Highlights Abstract Background: Insertion of peripheral vascular access devices (PIVC) is fundamental to patient care and may affect patient outcomes. Baseline data of PIVC insertions at a large medical center revealed that catheters required multiple insertion attempts, catheter hubs were manipulated to place extension sets, increasing the risk of complications, dwell times did not meet current standards, nurses experienced blood-exposure risk, and overall compliance with the hospital documentation policy was suboptimal. A 3-phase quality improvement project was conducted to address these concerns. Methods: In Phase 1, an assessment of the current state of PIVC insertions and care was conducted using a mixed-methods approach consisting of an observational audit of insertion and maintenance practices, and retrospective chart reviews. In Phase 2, PIVC policies and practices were updated to reflect current standards. A new advanced design PIVC device was adopted, and education was provided to all staff. In Phase 3, the impact of these changes on key PIVC measures was assessed 1 year later. Results: The analysis of the data found several improvements following implementation of an integrated IV catheter system: first-stick success rate increased from 73% to 84%, staff blood exposure was reduced from 46.67% to 0% (P = .01), improper securement of PIVC catheters was reduced from 11% to 0% (P = .002), and documentation compliance rate increased from 68% to 80%. The median PIVC dwell time doubled (from 2 days to 4 days). Conclusion: Changes to policy, practices, and products plus education can improve the PIVC first-stick success, dwell time, documentation, and staff safety.

A scoping review of Clinical Studies, Hospital Group Reports and National Strategic Documents on vascular access devices in cancer patients

Introduction: The extent of vascular/venous access device (VAD) research output from the Island of Ireland is unknown. The identification of the papers available is important to create a future research agenda. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to answer three questions: What is the number and descriptive quality of reported Vascular Access Device literature from the Island of Ireland? Is the reporting of Catheter Related Infection rates for cancer patients common in Irish Hospital Groups, National Cancer Reports and Publication Outputs? What are the implications for future research in this area? Methods: We used a scoping review and searched selected databases, grey literature and hospital regulatory bodies websites following the Joanna Briggs Institute Guidelines 2017. A data charting form was developed based on a template from the Joanna Briggs Institute and this was used to extract data from the included reports. Results: A total of 660 reports were screened. Sixty-one full text articles were reviewed from which 20 reports were included for data extraction. Of the reports included the following designs were used: nine retrospective study designs, four guidelines, two prospective study designs, two literature reviews and one of the following; survey, case study and cross sectional analysis designs. We did not identify any randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis and scoping reviews. Five studies included catheter related infection rates. Gaps in the research include the collection of data sets and the need to establish a VAD registry; develop core outcomes for VADs; assessment and evaluation of VAD care bundles among cancer patients; and, the inclusion of public and patient involvement in future VAD research. Conclusion: The reporting of VAD outcomes in published literature regarding cancer patients receiving treatment in Ireland is inconsistent and varied with no interventional studies addressing vascular access complications in cancer care.

A Critical Appraisal of Variability in Informed Consent for Vascular Access Procedures

Highlights Abstract Background: Vascular access device insertion is one of the most performed procedures in healthcare today. With different device types available to provide infusion therapy, there are many different variables to consider, including the process of obtaining informed consent from patients. This literature review aims to discuss common themes present in current evidence-based practice and point out critical areas of variability that exist. Methods: A literature review was conducted searching Cochrane Library, Joanna Briggs Institute for Evidence-Based Practice, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases for recently published articles in the English language and those written in English. Articles were screened to include those that describe informed consent within the context of vascular access or other invasive procedures. There were 35 articles and 5 systematic reviews identified that met criteria for inclusion in this literature review. Discussion: The topics of ethics, legal responsibility, who provided consent, and how education about procedures was performed demonstrated clear insight into how to improve the consent process. Some areas in current evidence lack clear direction and create variability in the informed consent procedure. These included who should obtain consent from the patient and which vascular access devices required a written consent. Who obtains consent was found to be more related to current legal precedence and not the clinician inserting the device like that found when a nonphysician clinician performed the procedure. Vascular access device related variability in requiring written versus verbal consent was found to be rooted in the degree of complexity of the procedure, need for specialized training, and the inherent risk to the patient. Conclusion: These two areas of variability described in current clinical practice require more research and consensus agreement to standardize the practice of obtaining informed consent in vascular access device insertion.

Comparison of Two Methods of Removing Totally Implantable Vascular Access Devices- A Single-Center Experience

In recent years, totally implantable vascular access devices (TIVADs) are widely used for infusion of high-concentration chemotherapeutic drugs and total parenteral nutrition solution, mainly in cancer patients. While there is no definite optimal time and detailed surgical procedures for the removal of TIVADs. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects and complications of different removal approaches of totally implantable vascular access devices (TIVADs). A retrospective analysis was performed on 205 breast cancer patients who underwent TIVAD removal between June 2019 and November 2019. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. There were 102 cases in group A, in which the port was removed before the catheter. There were 103 cases in group B, in which the catheter was removed before the port. The systematic analysis focused on operation time and postoperative complications (pain, local skin infection, and hematoma). There were no significant differences in postoperative pain, wound infection, and hematoma between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time was significantly shortened in group A (P<0.01).There were no significant differences in postoperative complications between the two groups. The operation time could be significantly reduced by adopting the strategy of removing the port before the catheter.

‘Pinholes in my arms’: the vicious cycle of vascular access

Background: Vascular access devices (VADs) are essential for delivery of intravenous therapies. There are notable gaps in the literature regarding a focus on patient experience and meaning-making related to living with a VAD, specifically a central venous access device (CVAD). Aims: To explore how patients make sense of living with a CVAD. Methods: This study followed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. Purposive sampling was used to identify 11 cancer patients who had a CVAD in situ. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were performed. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed by the lead author. Findings: Four superordinate themes were identified: the self under attack; being rescued/being robbed; protection of others/protection of self; bewilderment and dismay at lack of staff competence. Conclusion: Having a CVAD affects the psychological, social, and personal self and impacts on self-esteem and self-image. Despite this, CVADs are accepted by patients and are eventually ‘embodied’ by them.