Peripheral venous puncture: local complications in patients assisted in a university hospital

Objective: to identify the most frequent local complications resulting from peripheral venipuncture in patients assisted at a university hospital in Recife city, Pernambuco state, aiming at proposing preventive actions in nursing care. Method: this is about a quantitative, descriptive, cross sectional study, approved by the Committee of Research Ethics under registration CAAE 0038.0.102.000-07. The population consisted of 328 patients and sample included 131 patients. Data was collected through a survey, using questionnaires and by reviewing medical records. We used the Epi-Info software for tabulation. Results: the most frequent local complications found were: phlebitis (64.9%), infiltration (40.5%) and hematoma (18.3%). We were able to identify the prevalence of signs and symptoms, as well as the degrees of phlebitis, which were grade 1 (40%) and grade 3 (38.8%), and the degree of infiltration, which was grade 2 (49.1%). Results related to nursing action amounted to 89.3% (117 reports) of positive evaluation, where the only type nursing action reported by patients was the withdrawal of the device. Conclusion: considering the risks inherent in intravenous therapy, the nurse plays an important role in preventing and reducing local complications.