IV Nurses Day is celebrated on January 25th to appreciate all the nurses who have dedicated their lives to providing patients with the best infusion care. This year’s theme, “INS Strong,” speaks to what makes INS and the members so strong – INS Strong stands for Initiatives, Nurses, and Standards. To mark this day, to celebrate the profession of nursing, and to contribute to the professional development of the nurses, Becton Dickinson (BD) along with key speakers from INS, conducted a panel discussion with an initiative I CAN (Infusion Care And Nursing).

31st Jan 2022: Becton Dickinson (BD), along with the Infusion Nurses Society (INS), conducted a Panel Discussion on January 21st on the topic ‘Maximizing Catheter Dwell Time – Peripheral Focus’ to bring attention to achieving better patient safety. This virtual session involved enlightenment on improving proficiency and reducing the risk of PIVC-related complications such as bloodstream infections and occlusions. Esteemed leaders of the nursing community graced this panel discussion with their presence and consisted of Ms. Precila Fernandes, Nursing Director Medanta Hospital, Lucknow, and Amandeep Sharma, Nursing Superintendent, Deep Hospital, Ludhiana.

The Infusion Nurses Society (INS) recently released the 8th edition of the Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice in 2021 to help navigate this compendium of vascular care for maximizing catheter dwell time in peripheral lines.

The series of panel discussions was started by Col. Binu Sharma, President INS, India & Senior Director Nursing at Max Healthcare Institute, who congratulated all the nurses for taking steps to enhance their knowledge so as to shoulder the responsibility for patient safety and said, “Every single nurse in the hospital needs to be a certified IV nurse. Aligning the requirements of the dynamic healthcare world, the INS envisions to make every single practicing nurse stronger with education imparted by INS across the world, and taking strong initiatives to create stronger nurses.”

Up to 80% of hospital settings use PIVC catheterization for their patients. The factors that contribute to difficult intravenous access include multiple insertion attempts, particularly in elderly and immunocompromised patients, and are associated with catheter-related complications. Amandeep Sharma, Nursing Superintendent, Deep Hospital, Ludhiana, said, “Unsuccessful insertions of PIVCs can result in switching catheters and more complex situations like using central venous catheters or PICC lines, and are associated with a longer process and higher material cost.”

Using technology as remedial action over the traditional approach, Ms. Precila Fernandes, Nursing Director Medanta Hospital, Lucknow, said, “LED transillumination technology can be beneficial over traditional cannulation methods, as it directly hits the patient’s skin, and makes the vein and its size visible for assessment of clinicians. Use of advanced vascular devices can reduce the burden on the patients and help achieve patient satisfaction.”

“NFCs and pre-filled flushing devices as a Care Bundle approach can also play a vital role in preventing PIVC failure and reducing the infection risk to patients and healthcare staff. One of the most critical steps to be followed while handling NFCs include scrubbing the hub using alcohol to avoid infections”, said Ms. Fernandes.

Talking about the role of standardization of practices in reducing catheter-related complications, Ms. Fernandes said, “When training the nurses, it is important to explain about hand hygiene, flushing protocols and NFCs, assessing the visual infusion phlebitis (VIP) score when removing the cannula, and all the records should be maintained which can be analysed later.”

Concluding the well-attended panel discussion, Dr. Gaurav Singh, Medical Affairs Manager, BD, said, “The road to achieving maximum indwelling time has a lot of hurdles. However, with the right training, use of technology, tracking the success, and standard flushing protocols, it is possible to achieve positive clinical outcomes and a better patient experience.”

About BD

BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company develops innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD has 70,000 employees and a presence in virtually every country around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. BD helps customers enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care.