Abstract

Background & Objective: The peripheral venous catheter is the common and essential intravenous (IV) device, frequently used in medical practices. However, this practice carries inherent risks, leading to nosocomial infections, extended hospital stays & increased healthcare costs. Hence study was commenced with a objective to assess nurses knowledge, practices and challenges in care and maintenance of intravenous cannulas. Material & Methods: An observational cross sectional study was conducted at GVP Hospital, Visakhapatnam during July and August 2023 among 200 Nurses. A validated semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was administered to randomly selected nurses based on inclusion & exclusion criteria. It includes Knowledge on care and maintenance of peripheral intravenous catheter, measured through premises with a normal scale ("yes," "no," and "I don't know"). Nurse’s practice was measured. Barriers found were analysed based on the similarity of answers. Data was entered in MS Excel and analysed by using SPSS software version 21. Results: About 88% of study population had proper knowledge & 86% were followed practice for care & maintenance of intravenous cannulas. Barriers identified were incooperated patients (28%), given to strong medication made the vein easy block (22%), small vein prone to blockage and damage (51%).

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