Research Article Postinfusion Phlebitis: Incidence and Risk Factors Joan Webster, 1,2 Matthew McGrail, 3 Nicole Marsh, 1,2,4 Marianne C. Wallis, 2,4,5 Gillian Ray-Barruel, 2,4 and Claire M. Rickard 2,4 1 Centre for Clinical Nursing, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Herston, QLD 4029, Australia 2 National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Nursing Interventions for Hospitalised Patients, Grifth Health Institute, Nathan, QLD 4029, Australia 3 School of Rural Health, Monash University, Churchill Campus, Churchill, VIC 3842, Australia 4 Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR), Grifth Health Institute, Nathan, QLD 4558, Australia 5 School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD 4558, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to Joan Webster; joan.webster@health.qld.gov.au Received 6 November 2014; Accepted 16 December 2014 Academic Editor: Karyn Holm Copyright © 2015 Joan Webster et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective. To document the incidence of postinfusion phlebitis and to investigate associated risk factors. Design. Analysis of existing data set from a large randomized controlled trial, the primary purpose of which was to compare routine peripheral intravascular catheter changes with changing catheters only on clinical indication. Participants and Setting. Patients admitted to a large, acute general hospital in Queensland, Australia, and who required a peripheral intravenous catheter. Results. 5,907 PIVCs from 3,283 patients were studied. Postinfusion phlebitis at 48 hours was diagnosed in 59 (1.8%) patients. Fifeen (25.4%) of these patients had phlebitis at removal and also at 48 hours afer removal. When data were analyzed per catheter, the rate was lower, 62/5907 (1.1%). Te only variable associated with postinfusion phlebitis was placement of the catheter in the emergency room ( = 0.03). Conclusion. Although not a common occurrence, postinfusion phlebitis may be problematic so it is important for health care staf to provide patients with information about what to look for afer an intravascular device has been removed. Tis trial is registered with ACTRN12608000445370. 1. Introduction Peripheral intravascular catheterization (PIVC) is a common feature of acute hospitalization, with the majority of patients requiring the intravenous administration of fuid or medi- cation at some time during their hospital stay [1, 2]. One of the complications of PIVC is phlebitis, diagnosed by one or more signs or symptoms of pain, tenderness, swelling, induration, erythema, and a palpable, cord-like vein [3]. A number of factors have been associated with the development of phlebitis, such as (1) chemical factors—caused by irritant drugs or infusates; (2) mechanical factors—size, location and catheter material, and skill of the inserter; (3) infection factors—migration of organisms from the skin, along the catheter to the tip or from a contaminated hub; and (4) patient factors—infection at another location, age, and gender [4]. Irrespective of the cause, phlebitis may extend the patient’s length of hospital stay, increase treatment costs, and, in rare cases, lead to bacteremia [5]. At least 71 diferent phlebitis scales exist [3]; consequently, the incidence of phlebitis varies widely, depending on the population studied and the defnitions used for diagnosis. For example, rates as high as 91% have been reported in older studies [6] but results from recent large trials suggest that the percatheter incidence of phlebitis in tertiary hospitals is more likely to be around 4.6% [7], close to the recommended target of 5% set by the Infusion Nurses Society [8]. Most cases of phlebitis are minor and resolve without treatment when the catheter is removed. However, reported rates are generally based on phlebitis occurring during the course of intravenous therapy, whereas phlebitis is an infammatory response and may occur well afer the device is removed [9]. Although the Infusion Nurses Society Standards rec- ommend that the vascular access site should be monitored Hindawi Publishing Corporation Nursing Research and Practice Volume 2015, Article ID 691934, 3 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/691934