Making peripheral blood vessels adequate for access in emergency ward services
Fraile Fraile, E.ís.; Sánchez Rico, M.; Abejón Arroyo, D.; Martínez Fuertes, C.
Revista de Enfermeria 31(2): 7-12
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 0210-5020 PMID: 18496961 Document Number: 619546
Accessing peripheral blood vessels is one of the most frequently practiced invasive techniques carried out in emergency wards for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes. The authors of this article study the peripheral blood vessels and evaluate making their access adequate for treatment by means of a transversal descriptive study. The results of the authors' study show that 33% of the blood vessels catheterized do not comply with the criteria for their adequacy described in the methodology to consider them adequate for catheterization. This relatively high percentage, besides increasing the economic costs in terms of human and material resources, has a negative effect on the functioning of an emergency ward, leading to increased waiting times for other patients pending evaluation-treatment, with the risk that this implies. The elaboration and implementation of a guide to prescribe peripheral blood vessels catheterization may prove useful in order to reduce the number of inadequate blood vessels catheterized and to improve the quality of the care provide by emergency ward personnel.