ABSTRACT
Pain related to the insertion of intravenous catheters is a major issue for many patients. This study investigated differences in pain on insertion for three different catheters - Optiva 1, Biovalve and Venflon 2 - as assessed by 100 volunteers. Clinicians also assessed a variety of parameters related to their overall ease of use. This study demonstrates that Optiva 2 can offer significant benefits for both patient and clinician. Pain on insertion was significantly lower with Optiva 2 than with Venflon 2, but comparable with Biovalve. Ease of insertion and flashback were significantly better for Optiva 2 than for Venflon 2, but similar to Biovalve. For the parameters 'ease of catheter advancement' and 'overall ease of use', the operators rated Optiva 2 significantly better than Biovalve and Venflon 2.
