A comparative study of two securement techniques for short peripheral intravenous catheters.

Previous studies have examined complications with short peripheral catheters, although focus on securement techniques and the relation to catheter dislodgment as an early indicator of potential intravenous complications is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine two methods of peripheral catheter securement: transparent dressing and tape (control group) versus transparent dressing and StatLock i.v./PICC (study group) and their effects on i.v. complications. One hundred five peripheral catheters were evaluated. The use of transparent dressing and StatLock showed a 45% reduction in overall i.v. therapy complications when compared with that of transparent dressing and tape (P = 0.025). In addition, catheter dislodgment episodes were reduced by 40% (P = 0.002) with the average dwell time extended by 21 hours.