Development and Evaluation of an Algorithm for Vascular Access Management

Summary

Two billion catheters are placed annually worldwide. Of all the people requiring vascular access, nearly a quarter have Difficult Intravenous access (DIVA), a source of multiple punctures. The increased risk of haematomas, haemorrhages, infection, pain and associated trauma is responsible for increased human costs and economic impact.

To limit the risks posed by the DIVA, practitioners have solutions such as the per-bone line, other types of lines, and placement of peripheral venous catheter with ultrasound or transluminescence. However, these solutions are not always applicable, depending on the care situation (non-substitutable venous access, fragile patient, etc.) or on the technical platform (available personnel and training, configuration of the premises, available equipment). Moreover, these actions are often taken after failures, in a non-anticipated and non-consensual manner.

In order to assess the risk of DIVA, F.Van Loon et al developed in 2016, and then modified in 2018, a DIVA Scale (the A-DIVA Scale) which allows a rapid scoring upstream of peripheral venous catheter placement to classify patients according to the risk of DIVA.

Composed of five items (non-palpable and non-visible vein, diameter \< 3mm, history of DIVA, operator experience) worth one point each, the score allows three categories to be established: "low risk", "moderate risk", "high risk". The study showed that the proportion of first puncture failures increased with the risk of the patients (defined according to the categorized score).

The use of a tool such as the A-DIVA Scale is of interest if it allows the definition of actions to be taken in relation to the risk it identifies. In view of this, it appears essential to optimize the management of peripheral venous catheters, particularly for patients with DIVAs. The aim of this study is to develop a graduate and specific response to the issue of multiple punctures. Our project is to create and evaluate a specific algorithm, consisting of a risk assessment (the A-DIVA Scale) and a co-construct decision-making tree (the A-DIVA Tool). Built on the basis of objective clinical data collection and adapted to the possibilities and competencies, this new tool would bring real benefits to the patient in terms of safety (reduction of risks) and comfort (reduction of pain and duration of management), as well as a medico-economic benefit for the institutions. To date, such an algorithm does not exist and its beneficial effects have not been evaluated.

Conditions

• Peripheral Venous Access

Interventions

OTHER

Implementation of the A-DIVA Scale

Phase 2 aims to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the A-DIVA Scale (classification score for difficult intravenous access) on practitioners' approaches to the peripheral venous catheter placement. It consists of a systematic collection of peripheral venous catheter placement practices for quantitative data and a questionnaire of professionals' opinions on the use of the A-DIVA scale for qualitative data. The main objective of this phase is to recognize the potential appearance of changes in practices through the implementation of a tool for evaluating vascular access difficulties

OTHER

Implementation of the algorithm composed of the A-DIVA Scale and the new decision-making tree (the A-DIVA Tool) in the centers

The main objective of this phase is to evaluate the impact of the algorithm on the quality of peripheral venous catheter placement. • Systematic collection of judgment criteria and socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients. Description of the care strategy implemented. Systematic collection of the A-DIVA Scale with identification of the patient's risk group, systematic rating of pain and evaluation of overall comfort.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Central Hospital, Nancy, France

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Côme SLOSSE · Center Hospital Nancy

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-12-05

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2027-06-09

Countries

• France

Study Locations