Risk factors for difficult peripheral venous cannulation in hospitalised patients. Protocol for a multicentre case–control study in 48 units of eight public hospitals in Spain

INTRODUCTION: Patients with difficult venous access experience undesirable effects during healthcare, such as delayed diagnosis and initiation of treatment, stress and pain related to the technique and reduced satisfaction. This study aims to identify risk factors with which to model the appearance of difficulty in achieving peripheral venous puncture in hospital treatment. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Case–control study. We will include adult patients requiring peripheral venous cannulation in eight public hospitals, excluding those in emergency situations and women in childbirth or during puerperium. The nurse who performs the technique will record in an anonymised register variables related to the intervention. Subsequently, a researcher will extract the health variables from the patient’s medical history. Patients who present one of the following conditions will be assigned to the case group: two or more failed punctures, need for puncture support, need for central access after failure to achieve peripheral access, or decision to reject the technique. The control group will be obtained from records of patients who do not meet the above conditions. It has been stated a minimum sample size of 2070 patients, 207 cases and 1863 controls. A descriptive analysis will be made of the distribution of the phenomenon. The variables hypothesised to be risk factors for the appearance of difficult venous cannulation will be studied using a logistic regression model. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was funded in January 2017 and obtained ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of the Balearic Islands. Informed consent will be obtained prior to data collection. Results will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.