Sixty-eight percent of clinicians reported that accidental IV dislodgements happened "often," "daily" or "multiple times daily" in their institution, according to survey results published in the Journal of the Association for Vascular Access.
The survey of 1,561 U.S. clinicians was conducted to evaluate clinical perceptions of the incidence and safety risks IV dislodgements pose. Nearly all survey respondents (95 percent) considered IV dislodgement to be a safety risk to patients.
Some common safety consequences of accidental dislodgement are treatment interruptions/delays in receiving medication and the need to restart an IV catheter.
Dislodgement happened with all types of devices included in the survey. About 96 percent of respondents said peripheral intravenous catheters were the most commonly dislodged device.
The top three causes of dislodgement cited in the survey were a patient being confused about the device (80 percent), a patient physically removing catheter (74 percent) and loose IV catheter tape or securement (65 percent).
"This is a much bigger patient safety issue than most clinicians realize. In a way, it's been hiding in plain sight," said author Nancy Moureau, PhD, RN. "Dislodgement has clinical and economic consequences that can include time-consuming restarts, another invasive procedure and delays in treatment."