Effectiveness of using near-infrared vein visualizers by nurses in promoting successful peripheral venous catheterization in patients receiving chemotherapy

Objective: Visibility and palpability of peripheral veins may affect peripheral intravenous catheterization (PIVC) failure and complications. A near-infrared (NIR) vein visualizer is recommended to select peripheral veins with low visibility. Chemotherapy reduces the number of peripheral veins suitable for PIVC; however, no study has shown that NIR vein visualizers can prevent PIVC failures during chemotherapy. We investigated the effectiveness of using an NIR vein visualizer by nurses for PIVC during chemotherapy. Technical Report: We investigated the vein characteristics (i.e., visibility, palpability), PIVC difficulty before puncture, and success or failure. The study field was a chemotherapy room at the General Hospital (Shizuoka, Japan). The study participants were nurses who performed PIVC in patients receiving chemotherapy. Six nurses were enrolled, and eighty-four PIVC cases were obtained (with duplicate patients). There were 34 cases in the NIR vein visualizer group and 50 in the standard insertion group; the NIR vein visualizer group had a significantly higher number of difficult PIVC cases (p < .01). Peripheral veins with successful PIVC in the NIR vein visualizer group had significantly higher visibility and palpability than those with PIVC failure (p < .05). Conclusions: During chemotherapy, nurses used an NIR vein visualizer for the peripheral veins deemed difficult to catheterize; PIVC was successfully performed in the peripheral veins with high palpability. The results showed that an NIR vein visualizer facilitates successful PIVC during chemotherapy.