I recently read an article in the Journal of Infusion Nursing, March/April 2013, that really hits home with me. Here is what it had to say: ” Many health care professionals view venipuncture, including the IV catheter insertions, as quick and relatively painless events. Although the pain of a needle-stick from venipuncture is short term, children are not allowed to refuse and are unable to rationalize the painful experience, so their suffering is intensified. ” The article continues to state that “When hospitalized children were asked, IV line insertion ranked as one of the most common sources of significant pain, ranking it as either the worst of all pain or second only to disease-related pain. ” The article goes on to give treatment with nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic to mange pain with this procedure. The article discusses using child life specialists, distraction, sedation and most importantly, educating both the children and their families. Educating the entire team is so important prior to inserting any vascular access device, including the peripheral IV. The health care professionals are the ones who can make a difference in patient care. We need to have positive outcomes for these procedures. If placing the PIV is a huge source of anxiety for the patient, we can assume anxiety can affect the success rates for getting the IV in on the first attempt.
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