Preventing PIVC Infiltration in Hospitalised Children: What Should a Care Bundle Include?

Study Overview

Peripheral intravenous catheter infiltration occurs when fluid or medication leaks into surrounding tissue. In children, infiltration can cause pain, swelling, interruption to treatment and, in more serious cases, tissue injury.

This scoping review mapped the available evidence on care bundles designed to prevent infiltration in children with short peripheral intravenous catheters. The authors searched four major databases and included quantitative and mixed-methods studies that described the components of a paediatric infiltration-prevention bundle.

Key Findings

• The review identified only four relevant care bundles, developed in India, Australia, the United States and Thailand.
• The bundles included between four and seven interventions, showing considerable variation in how infiltration prevention was approached.
• The most consistently included component was PIVC stabilisation and dressing.
• The studies used a mix of quality improvement, pre-post and quasi-experimental designs, and all were published between 2014 and 2021.
• Overall, there was no consistent set of bundle components used across the studies.