The Effect of a Nurse Education Program on Infiltration and Extravasation in Pediatric Patients at a University Hospital.

Aim: Prevention of infiltration/extravasation (I/E) in pediatric patients is important. This study has examined the effect of an education program, which aims to prevent and manage pediatric I/E, on I/E rates in pediatric patients. Materials and Methods: This is a semi-experimental study with a single group pre-test/post-test design. A sample of 79 nursing staff and 289 IV catheters of 150 pediatric patients was investigated. Pediatric I/E training was given to the nurses and the effectiveness of the training program and I/E rates before and after the training were evaluated. Results: Compared to the pre-education phase, there was a significant increase in the mean scores of the nurses' knowledge in the posteducation phase (t: 7,328; p<0.001). The education program was implemented based on the probability rate that was calculated by the researchers; this enabled a 12-fold reduction of pediatric I/E (odds ratio: 12,214, 95% confidence interval). Conclusion: This study has led to an improvement in nursing care, an improvement in the quality of patient care and has helped progress toward increased patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]