Comparison of percutaneous venous catheters and teflon catheters for intravenous therapy in neonates.

The purpose of this study was to compare the average duration of catheterization of percutaneous venous catheters (PVCs) with Teflon catheters placed in peripheral veins of neonates, and to describe the incidence of mechanical or infectious complications associated with their use. The sample consisted of twelve subjects with a total of 52 catheters--17 PVCs and 35 Teflon catheters. The results of the study indicated both a significant increase in the duration of catheterization (p = .001) and a significant reduction in the incidence of complications (p = .004) when PVCs were used. The mean duration of catheterization for PVCs was 178.6 hours and for Teflon catheters 41.9 hours. Although 80.8 percent of all the neonates studied suffered some complication leading to early catheter removal, such complications were observed most frequently with Teflon catheters (91 versus 59 percent of PVCs). However, the one subject who experienced the complication of catheter-related sepsis did have a PVC in situ for 313.5 hours. For this sample of neonates, the PVC was the most efficacious mode of IV therapy.