The Efficacy of Nurse-Performed Ultrasound Guidance Compared with the Conventional Cannulation Technique in Patients with Difficult Peripheral Intravenous Access: A Systematic Review

Objective The aim of this review is to highlight the efficacy of nurse-performed ultrasound guidance compared with the conventional cannulation technique in patients with difficult peripheral intravenous access. Design A systematic litterature review. Data sources The CINAHL and PubMed databases were searched for articles from the period 2011-2021. Method The following search words were used: peripheral intravenous AND ultrasonography OR ultrasound guided AND catheterization, peripheral/methods. The keyword catheterization, peripheral/methods was found via MeSH Terms (Medical Subject Headings) which PubMed recommended as keyword within the intervention of the conventional cannulation technique. Results 2 out of 3 articles prove that success rate on the first attempt (primary outcome) was significantly higher in the nurse-performed ultrasound-guided technique compared with the conventional palpation technique. The results of the secondary outcomes; time consumption, complications, patient satisfaction and nurse satisfaction between the two groups proved to be heterogeneous. Conclusion Nurse-performed ultrasound guidance in hospital wards increases the success rate in patients with difficult peripheral intravenous access. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data produced are available online at pubmed and CINAHL