This study shows that in one-fifth to one-third of the patients, intravenous cannulation required more than one attempt. It is difficult to predict with accuracy the difficulty of intravenous cannulation solely with easily obtainable patient characteristics.

SummaryIntravenous cannulation can be difficult in children. Recently, new devices using near-infrared light to make blood vessels visible have become available. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of three such devices in facilitating peripheral intravenous cannulation in children. In this cluster randomised clinical trial, daily operating rooms at a tertiary childrens' hospital were randomised to the use of the VeinViewer â , AccuVein â AV300, VascuLuminator Vision â or to a control group. We included 1913 children between birth and 18 years scheduled for elective surgery.Suitable veins for cannulation were more easily visible with the VeinViewer (307/322 (95.3%)) and AccuVein (239/ 254 (94.1%)) devices than with VascuLuminator (229/257 (89.1%)) (p = 0.03). However, success at the first attempt was not significantly different among groups, ranging from 73.1% to 75.3% (p = 0.93). We conclude that although vein visibility is enhanced, near-infrared devices do not improve cannulation.

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This study showed promising results on the value of an NIR vascular imaging system in facilitating venipunctures.

The VascuLuminator has limited value in improving success at first attempt of facilitating IV cannulation in children with dark skin color.