Evaluation of maintenance care for peripheral venue catheters through indicators

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the maintenance care of peripheral venous catheters through
indicators. Method: prospective observational study with quantitative approach,
performed in medical clinic units of adult patients. A checklist was elaborated to
obtain the data, consisting of the indicators “care with dressings and lines”, “handling
of installed devices” and “adequate records”. Data collection was performed by direct
observation of the patient and consultation of the medical record. The data were
organized and analyzed in spreadsheets, which enabled the accounting of conformities
and nonconformities of the evaluated practices. Results: there were 642 applications
of the checklist. In the indicator “care with dressings and lines”, the “expiring date of
peripheral venous catheter” component had the highest compliance rate (98.8%), and
the “dressing conditions” component had the highest non-compliance (85.0%). In the
indicator “handling of installed devices”, the component “protects the site while bathing”
was the most compliant (85.6%), and the largest non-compliance was observed in
“disinfection of connections” (89.7%). The indicator “adequate records” had a high rate
of non-compliance (99.8%). The positivity index was determined to assess the quality of
care. It was adequate for the “expiring date of peripheral venous catheter” component and safe for the “protects the site while bathing” component. The other
components achieved poor or borderline quality of care. Conclusion: the
evaluation of peripheral venous catheter maintenance care identified the
weaknesses and allowed to propose strategies focused on the needs of
the team, aiming to improve the care provided.