A study in the American Journal of Critical Care suggests the current recommendations for using a central catheter for continuous intravenous infusion of 3 percent sodium chloride solution should be re-evaluated.
Instead of a central catheter, the study suggests using a peripheral catheter for continuous intravenous infusion of hypertonic saline. This would cut down on unnecessary use of central catheters, which would lower costs and could lead to fewer infections.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study at two academic medical centers of data on patients treated with continuous intravenous infusion of the solution. Of the 213 patients who had the solution administered peripherally, 15 had infusion-related reactions. Most (73.7 percent) received their entire treatment peripherally.
"Current recommendations that a central catheter is required for continuous intravenous infusion of 3 percent sodium chloride solution should be re-evaluated," the study concludes. "Only a few patients who had peripheral infusions had infusion-related reactions."