Introduction: The process of peripheral venous access (PVA) in children can be challenging for the patient and the clinician, as failed attempts often exceed the recommended two insertions, which can be painful. To speed up the process and increase success, near-infrared device (NIR) device technology has been introduced. This literature review aimed to investigate and critically evaluate the impact of NIR devices on the number of attempts and the time of the catheterization procedure in pediatric patients from 2015 to 2022.
Methods: An electronic search was performed to identify studies in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL Plus, from 2015 to 2022. After applying eligibility criteria, seven studies were considered for further review and evaluation.
Results: The number of successful venipuncture attempts ranged from 1 to 2.41 in control groups and from 1 to 2 in NIR groups. The procedural time required for success ranged from 37.5 s to 252 s in the control group and from 28.47 s to 200 s in the NIR groups. The NIR assistive device could be successfully used in preterm infants and children with special health care needs.
Conclusions: While more research is needed to examine the training and application of NIR in preterm infants, some studies have shown improvement in placement success. The number of attempts and time required for a successful PVA may depend on several alternative factors, including general health, age, ethnicity, and knowledge and skills of healthcare providers. Future studies are expected to investigate how the level of experience of a healthcare provider performing venipuncture influences the outcome. More research is needed to explore additional factors that predict the success rate.
Keywords: Peripheral venous access; near-infrared devices; number of attempts; outcome; pediatric patients; procedure time.