Use a Guidewire for Difficult Peripheral Venous Access

In a prospective study, investigators at an academic emergency department compared outcomes between a convenience sample of 100 patients with difficult venous access who underwent peripheral vein cannulation with a guidewire-associated catheter and 100 such patients who underwent the procedure with a standard catheter (no guidewire).

First-attempt success was achieved in 85% of patients in the guidewire group versus 22% in the standard group. Median patient satisfaction scores on a 5-point scale (with 5 being highest satisfaction) were 5 in the guidewire group versus 2 in the standard group. Median physician satisfaction scores were 5 versus 3, respectively.