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Peripheral intravenous (IV) catheter placement is the most common invasive procedure in hospitalized patients. Guidelines from the CDC (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2002; 23:759) recommend changing peripheral catheters in hospitalized adults at least every 72 to 96 hours to prevent phlebitis. However, only one small observational study supported this recommendation (Am J Infect Control 1998; 26:66).
In a meta-analysis, researchers aggregated data from six randomized controlled trials (3455 patients) in which routine replacement of peripheral catheters was compared with only clinically indicated replacement. Primary outcome assessments included suspected device-related bacteremia, thrombophlebitis, and cost. Incidences of bacteremia and thro…