Summary of Product Trials for 10, 164 Patients

In Brief Inadequate catheter securement is an underrecognized patient safety issue that contributes significantly to catheter-related complications, including dislodgment, occlusion, infiltration, and infection. Pooled data from prospective product trials at 83 hospitals compared tape to a standard peripheral intravenous (PIV) securement method with a PIV-specific catheter-stabilizing device (StatLock). A 67% reduction (P < .001) in total patient complications was observed in the stabilizing device group, as compared with the tape group. Also, the need for unscheduled PIV restarts was reduced by 76% with the stabilizing device (P < .001). An annual cost savings of $18,000 per hospital on PIV materials and a combined savings of $277,000 on materials, complication costs, and nursing time were estimated on the basis of these reduced complications. Newer catheter-stabilizing technologies can help to reduce patient complications, for an overall cost savings, and consequently reduce needlestick exposures for healthcare providers by reducing restarts and prolonging dwell times. Inadequate catheter securement is an underrecognized patient safety issue that contributes significantly to catheter-related complications, including dislodgment, occlusion, infiltration, and infection. Pooled data from prospective product trials at 83 hospitals compared tape to a standard peripheral intravenous (PIV) securement method with a PIV-specific catheter-stabilizing device (StatLock). A 67% reduction (P < .001) in total patient complications was observed in the stabilizing device group, as compared with the tape group. Also, the need for unscheduled PIV restarts was reduced by 76% with the stabilizing device (P < .001). An annual cost savings of $18,000 per hospital on PIV materials and a combined savings of $277,000 on materials, complication costs, and nursing time were estimated on the basis of these reduced complications. Newer catheter-stabilizing technologies can help to reduce patient complications, for an overall cost savings, and consequently reduce needlestick exposures for healthcare providers by reducing restarts and prolonging dwell times.