RNSystematic ReviewRevista brasileira de enfermagem2025

Nursing practices and complications associated with peripheral catheterization for outpatient antineoplastic therapy: scoping review.

Vanessa Albuquerque Alvim de Paula, Vilanice Alves de Araújo Püschel, Kelli Borges Dos Santos and 2 others

PMID 41370540

WHAT IT FOUND

Scoping review of nursing practices for peripheral IVs during outpatient chemotherapy identified phlebitis, extravasation, and infection as key complications.

It mapped evidence on site selection, skin prep, and monitoring but found no trials testing these interventions.

Key findings

01The most frequently reported complications of peripheral IVs in outpatient chemotherapy were phlebitis, infiltration, and extravasation.

02Current guidelines recommend avoiding vesicant drug infusions lasting more than 30 minutes via peripheral lines and not using veins punctured more than 24 hours earlier.

03The review found no evidence of visualization technologies being used for venous puncture in the included studies, despite literature recommending ultrasound for difficult access.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs

Read the rest of this summary

You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.

Already have one?

What it does not show

The search strategy focused on the outpatient setting, which may have excluded relevant studies. The included evidence was primarily descriptive or guideline-based, with no clinical trials to test the effectiveness of the mapped practices. Only three studies were published between 2020 and 2023, limiting insights into post-pandemic changes.

Declared interests

The authors thanked the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for funding. No specific conflicts of interest regarding commercial entities were declared in the provided text.

The easy way to misread this

Do not interpret the mapped practices as evidence-based interventions proven to reduce complications. The review found no clinical trials testing these methods; it only cataloged what current guidelines and descriptive studies recommend.

Read it on PubMed →