Many people do not understand what is happening with peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs), a seemingly innocuous device. Did you know that up to 69% of all PIVCs fail with an estimated excessive cost of $475,000 per 10,000 catheters used?—And the financial burden is only part of the story. Patient complications from PIVCs was number nine in the top 10 patient safety concerns in 2021, as identified by the ECRI Institute, one of the largest health care quality and safety entities in the world. To an observer, PIVCs often lie: we see no external signs and symptoms, and thus complications are often undetected. Yet when we look inside the vein, we see complications have begun, and we find the internal catheter positioning (the lie of the catheter) a contributing factor. Join us as we explore why the complications we see with PIVCs are late signs and symptoms of where the true problems lie.

Learning Objectives:  At the conclusion of this presentation, learners will be able to:

·       Identify the prevalence of PIVC use and associated complications

·       Describe visually the impact of cannulation on vascular anatomy with use of case studies

·       Discuss the relationship between reported incidence of complications and actual practice

·       Summarize both the financial cost and patient outcomes involved with poor PIVC care

·       Discuss implementation in practice from the current INS Standards of Practice regarding PIVC placement and management

CRNI® RUs: This session has been approved for 2 CRNI® recertification units and meets the non INS Meeting criteria.

Contact Hours: This session has been approved for 1 contact hour

Expiration date for receipt of contact hours: March 16, 2025

To receive contact hours for this educational activity, you are required to attend the entire educational activity and complete the evaluation.

The Infusion Nurses Society is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, provider #CEP14209. The certificate must be retained by the attendee for a period of 4 years.