Objectives: To examine the effectiveness of near-infrared light devices (NIR) on procedure time of successful cannulation, success rate at the first attempt, and pain scores among pediatric patients and explore potential covariates on the intervention effect.
Background: Pediatric patients have encountered a high failure rate as compared with adult patients using traditional cannulation. NIR devices might help to access veins with an optimum viewing area and eliminate the number of attempts. However, methodological limitations and inconsistent results from previous reviews were found.
Methods: A three-step comprehensive search was performed in nine databases. Meta-analysis, subgroup, and meta-regression analyses were conducted. Individual quality assessment and certainty of evidence were assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessments, Development, and Evaluation criteria, respectively.
Results: We included 18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 5298 children and adolescents across nine countries. NIR light devices significantly reduce -29.43 s of procedure time and -0.47 attempts of peripheral intravenous cannulation compared with traditional methods. Subgroup analysis observed a significantly large effect size on procedure time using AccuVein with pre-procedure training at the clinics. However, NIR light devices do not significantly decrease the procedure time, first attempt success rate, and pain scores. Meta-regression identified sample size as a significant covariate that had an impact on the success rate at the first attempt.
Conclusions: The near-infrared light device can statistically significantly reduce the procedure time and the number of attempts. Given the low or very low certainty of the evidence, future well-designed RCTs are necessary.
Keywords: Near-infrared rays; Number of attempts; Pediatric patients; Peripheral intravenous cannulation; Procedure time.
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