Ultrasound-Guided IV Placement by Emergency Department Nurses versus Hospital IV Insertion Team- A Retrospective Study of Time to Successful Insertion

Abstract Background IV access in the emergency and acute care settings can often present as a challenge for patient care employees who are tasked with the essential task of placing an IV into a patient’s vein. This study compares time to IV placement by a IV Resource Insertion team compared to trained ER nurses in the skill of ultrasound guided.Methods This was a single site retrospective study which looked at the time to IV placement between a trained team of ER nurses and a formal IV insertion team, both using ultrasound guidance. The primary measure time to IV placement; age, gender, comorbidities and signs of infection were also reported.Results Thirty patients were chosen for each group. There was a statistically significant difference in times to IV placement between the ultrasound guided IV ER nurse team and the formal IV insertion team, with shorter times to IV insertion by the trained ER nurse team.Conclusion This study lends credibility to the notion that Emergency Department personal should be encouraged to learn and utilize US guided IV insertion to better improve patient waiting times for things such as lab results, IV fluids and antibiotics. This will improve patient experience and care. It will also help to decompress resource stressed health systems.