Obstruction and infiltration: a proposal of a quality indicator.

Background The quest for continuous improvement of the quality of provided care is the objective of nursing care. However, the insertion and permanence of a peripheral venous catheter has been associated to complications, thus making a systematic evaluation of the performance of professionals and the management of health services important. Objective: Analyse complications that caused removal of intravenous catheters. Methods A prospective study with 64 patients of a health service of Portugal, from July to September/2015. Included patients with age 18 years, with a peripheral venous catheter. Descriptive analysis using SPSS. Ethical requirements were met. Results Two hundred three (203) intravenous catheters, in 64 patients, most elderly (section 95.3 %), with mean age of 80 years were evaluated. The catheters remained inserted between one and 12 days (mean 2 days), 66 % of the devices were removed because of complications, such as: removal by the patient (17.7 %), obstruction (17.2 %), infiltration (14.8 %), phlebitis (9.4 %) and fluid exiting the insertion site (6.4 %). The prevalence of obstruction and infiltration per patient was respectively 36 % and 39 %. Conclusions Obstruction and infiltration were the complications of higher prevalence that led to the removal and reinsertion of a new peripheral venous catheter with the possibility of increased pain, infection and hospital costs. Faced with the risk of compromising patient safety and being able to contribute to the improvement of health care, we suggest the inclusion of obstruction and infiltration in the indicators of quality of care, in order to have systematic evaluation of results, (re)plan and implement preventive measures.

Adaptação transcultural da Infiltration Scale para o português

Objetivo: Traduzir, adaptar e avaliar as propriedades psicométricas da Infiltration Scale para a cultura portuguesa. Métodos: Estudo metodológico de adaptação transcultural com avaliação das propriedades psicométricas da Infiltration Scale em uma coorte com 110 adultos submetidos à terapia intravenosa. Resultados: Na tradução e adaptação cultural, as adequações linguísticas foram discutidas pelos investigadores e um painel de especialistas, havendo concordância em 85,71% dos critérios clínicos, exceto "Possible numbness". A escala captou infiltração em 48 pacientes (prevalência de 60%). O edema foi o principal sinal evidenciado na inserção e áreas adjacentes ao cateter venoso. A consistência interna, determinada pelo alfa de Cronbach, foi de 0,85. Conclusão: A escala adaptada para a cultura portuguesa apresentou equivalência linguística em relação à original, mostrou-se válida e fidedigna, com boa consistência interna para avaliar a infiltração. A avaliação sistemática da infiltração com recurso a escala poderá subsidiar a tomada de decisão e implementação de medidas preventivas.