Christian Emeka Amadi¹, Justina Omoikhefe Alegbeleye^2,

Background: Peripheral Intravenous Cannulation is a routine invasive procedure in clinical practice with various associated complications including cannula fracture. Objective: To evaluate the incidence of peripheral intravenous cannula fracture and its management. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital between April 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021. A data collection tool designed specifically for the study was used to obtain information on the size of the cannula, cadre of doctor that inserted the cannula, the brand of the cannula, history of reinsertion of the introducer needle during cannulation, duration of the intravenous cannulation, time of presentation and successful retrieval rate. Results: There were 15 cases of broken peripheral IV cannulae. The patients were aged 25-44years, consisting of 1 (6.67%) male and 14 females (93.33%). All the cannulae were 16G (gray) and were inserted mostly preoperatively for caesarean section, 7 (46.67%) of them were inserted by consultants, 4 (26.67%) by Senior Registrars and 4 (26.67%) by Registrars. All the 16G cannulae were made by the same manufacturer. The introducer needle was reinserted in 4 (26.67%) cases. On the average, the cannulae lasted between 3-5days intravenously, 10 (66.67%) of the cases presented within 24hours while 5 (33.33%) presented after 24hoours. Most 12 (80%) of the fractured cannulae segments were successfully retrieved while 3 (20%) had migrated. These peripheral cannula fractures were more prevalent in the first year of the study, where 12 cases were reported. The hospital management was notified of the increase in the rate of peripheral cannula fracture and the use of the brand of peripheral cannula was discontinued. Conclusion: Though technical error during insertion is an issue, the quality of the cannula in these cases appeared to contribute to the increased rate of cannula fracture. Hence, timely presentation is key to successful retrieval.

Cannula, Intravenous, Peripheral, Fracture, Retrieval, Port Harcourt