2017 Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 98-104
The present study aimed to identify factors related to the failure of venipuncture conducted by registered nurses for peripheral intravenous catheterization. Sixty-five attempts were investigated. The depth and cross-section area of venous blood vessels were measured before venipuncture. Visibility, movability and palpability of veins were simultaneously evaluated. The nurse evaluated the difficulty of puncture on a Likert scale from 1（very easy）to 10（very difficult）. The success rate of venipuncture was 69.2%. Veins in which venipuncture failed were significantly deeper and thinner than those in which venipuncture succeeded. Failed venipuncture was associated with increased difficulty resulting from vein characteristics such as being invisible. The nurses tended to judge that venipuncture was less likely to succeed when a blood vessel was invisible and not palpable. The findings suggested that nurses need to visualize and dilate invisible veins to increase the likelihood of successful venipuncture.
