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CompletedNCT04853264SPECTRAUpdated Nov 3, 2022

Ultrasound Guided Peripheral Catheterization Increases First-attempt Success Rate

An interventional study of Ultrasound-guided peripheral venipuncture and Conventional peripheral venipuncture in Peripheral Venous Catheterization and Ultrasonography, sponsored by Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre. Completed at 1 site in Brazil. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-11-03.

Sponsored by Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
166
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Randomized clinical trial to test the assertiveness on the peripheral vein puncture attempt by comparing two methods: peripheral venipuncture catheterization using the conventional technique (vein visualization and palpation) versus ultrasound-guided venous puncture.

Patients with indication of peripheral venous puncture, admitted to the clinical inpatient units on the hospital where the study will be conducted (Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre - HCPA) will be enrolled in this single-center trial and will be randomized to conventional peripheral venipuncture performed by a registered nurse; or ultrasound-guided peripheral venipuncture performed by a registered nurse with expertise in vascular access.

Read the detailed description

Study Protocol:

When there is a need for peripheral venous access for the inpatient, the medical or nursing care team will contact the researchers, informing the personal data of the possible candidate to participate in the study. By fulfilling the eligibility criteria, the patient will be invited and informed about the study proposal; and, if he agrees to participate, he will sign the consent form. The type of procedure to be performed will be randomized through a draw. The procedure options are:

Intervention: peripheral venipuncture guided by ultrasound by a registered nurse with expertise in vascular access, or Control: conventional peripheral venipuncture by an inpatient care registered nurse.

Individuals who do not agree to participate in the study will have their data stored on a patient exclusion checklist.

In both groups, intervention and control, up to two attempts will be made by the same professional and, if there is no success on the procedure, another professional will be designated for two more attempts. Ultrasound Site Rite 8 or Ultrasound Site Rite 5, which are portable ultrasound devices that include 2D ultrasound imaging in real time, will be used on the Intervention Group (1) procedure.

The peripheral venipuncture procedure for both groups will be performed according to the standard operating procedures recommended by the institution where the study will be conducted (HCPA). The catheters to be used will be the peripheral venous catheters made available by the institution.

If there is a failure of puncture in the Control Group (2), the study participant will follow the institution's routine to adapt an appropriate vascular access, which is the activation of a nurse specialist in vascular access, who can perform peripheral venipuncture guided by ultrasound. In the event of a new insertion failure, the care team (doctor and nurse) discusses the case to define a new approach according to the infusional therapy, considering the protocol for the indication of venous vascular accesses at the institution. Thereafter, the patient can proceed for oral treatment, insertion of a peripherally inserted central catheter, insertion of a short-term central venous catheter, hypodermoclysis, long-term central venous catheter (totally or semi-implanted), according to the decision of the assistant team.

In the case of failure of the puncture in the Intervention Group (1), the study participant will follow the same routine of the institution, as explained above, for the adequacy of an adequate vascular access. However, in this case, the nurse specialist in vascular access will not be contacted, as the intervention procedure already uses ultrasound.

All participants who successfully insert a peripheral venous catheter in both groups will be monitored for the occurrence of any event related to the procedure from the time of insertion of the catheter until the loss of access for any reason, removal of the device at the end of therapy, discharge, death or eight days of follow-up, whichever comes first. Peripheral venous access that remains for more than eight days will be counted as event-free, access survival. Study participants with failed insertion will have the outcome computed in the database and will be followed up for another 48 hours to assess any complications resulting from the puncture attempt.

02

Conditions studied

  • Peripheral Venous Catheterization
  • Ultrasonography

Keywords

  • Peripheral venous catheterization
  • Ultrasonography
  • Nursing
  • Clinical trial
  • Randomized clinical trial
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre is the lead sponsor of 456 studies on the registry; 61 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Adults, age = or > 18 years;
  • Both sex;
  • Admitted to the clinical inpatient units of the hospital where the study will be conducted (HCPA), with indication of peripheral venous puncture;
  • Patients who do not configure emergency care.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have already received ultrasound-guided peripheral venipuncture at the current hospitalization;
  • Patients in a critical or unstable clinical condition;
  • Patients admitted to surgical units at HCPA;
  • Patients in coronavirus (COVID-19) care units.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
166 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Experimental: intervention group

    Ultrasound-guided peripheral venipuncture performed by a registered nurse with expertise in vascular access.

    Device: Ultrasound-guided peripheral venipuncture

  • Active comparator
    Control group

    Conventional peripheral venipuncture performed by a registered nurse.

    Device: Conventional peripheral venipuncture

Interventions

  • DeviceUltrasound-guided peripheral venipuncture

    Ultrasound-guided peripheral venipuncture performed by a proficient vascular access registered nurse. The procedure will be performed according to the standard operational protocol for ultrasound guided peripheral venipuncture instituted at the hospital where the study will be conducted. Site Rite 8 or Site Rite 5 ultrasound machines (Bard Access Systems, Inc., USA) will be used on the procedures.

  • DeviceConventional peripheral venipuncture

    Conventional peripheral venipuncture performed by a registered nurse at the clinical inpatient unit. The procedure will be performed according to the standard operational protocol for peripheral venipuncture instituted in the hospital where the study will be conducted.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of venipuncture attempts

    Success in the first attempt of venipuncture will be defined by the presence of blood reflux and infusion of 2 mL of saline without complaint of pain or signs of infiltration around the vessel. The number of times the vascular device reaches the skin and subcutaneous tissue with or without rupture of the vessel will be computed.

    Time frame: Immediately after the procedure.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Time to obtain peripheral venous access

    The time to obtain peripheral venous access will be measured in minutes. The computation of the total time of the procedure will start from the entry of the nurse into the patient's room and it will end when this professional leaves the room. In case of failure in venipuncture, the total time of the procedure will be considered as the sum of the time used in the procedure (without assertion) and the period necessary to obtain a functional venous access.

    Time frame: During the procedure

  2. Classification of peripheral venous system conditions

    Predictors of difficult peripheral intravenous access will be recorded, considering demographic data (gender, age, weight, skin color, etc.) social behavior (active smoking, intravenous drug abuse and alcohol abuse), history of illnesses (heart and pulmonary diseases, vascular diseases, history of chemotherapy treatment, hematological status, use of drugs that interfere with cutaneous and vascular integrity, hypovolemia, hemodialysis, prolonged infusion therapies, skin changes, presence of scars and tattoos, dehydration, etc.) and history of difficult venous access.

    Time frame: Right before the procedure

  3. Peripheral venous catheters characteristics

    Describe the technical specificities of the intravenous catheters used in the procedures, in terms of caliber and length.

    Time frame: Before the procedure.

  4. Vascular and device complications

    Complications that might occur during the permanence of the vascular access device (phlebitis, obstruction, leakage, infiltration, etc), measured through clinical assessment. In the case of the development of phlebitis, it will be evaluated through the application of the Visual Infusion Phlebitis Scale (from the Infusion Nurses Society), which classifies the lesion up to five degrees, according to the progression and severity of the signs and symptoms.

    Time frame: Up to 8 days.

  5. Venipuncture durability without complications

    The time of permanence of the venous access without complications will be measured in days, counting from the day of insertion until the removal of the catheter for any reason (complications, end of therapy, discharge, death or eight days of follow-up). Venous accesses will follow the insertion site exchange guideline, that is, it will be exchange only when clinically indicated, in case of identified complication.

    Time frame: Up to 8 days.

  6. Infusional therapy characteristics and venipuncture durability

    The characteristics of the prescribed intravenous therapy and the durability of peripheral venous access will be assessed daily using specific forms, developed by the authors. The following data will be collected regarding the prescribed intravenous therapy: medication in use, dose, frequency, and estimated duration of therapy.

    Time frame: Up to 8 days.

  7. Costs related to the venipuncture techniques used

    Through specific forms, developed by the authors, the following will be computed: the number of catheters used, the complementary materials used and their quantities, the type of dressing for fixing the catheter and the time spent to obtain peripheral venous access.

    Time frame: Up to 8 days.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Post Graduated Program
    Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 90035003, Brazil
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Database

Supporting information: Statistical analysis plan, Analytic code

Time frame: After publication

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Sep 2021 to primary completion in Dec 2021, 3 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 16, 2021
First posted
Apr 21, 2021
StartActual
Sep 23, 2021
Primary completionActual
Dec 30, 2021
CompletionActual
Mar 31, 2022
Last update
Nov 3, 2022
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 3, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04853264
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 21, 2021
Start date
Sep 23, 2021
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2021
Completion
Mar 31, 2022
Last update
Nov 3, 2022

Study contacts

Eneida R Rabelo-Silva, RN, MSc, ScD
principal investigator · Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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