PEDIATRICIANS usually pride themselves on being able to administer fluids and medications by the intravenous route. By and large their success has merited the respect of medical colleagues. However, usually the patient must be immobilized for such therapy, and in order to avoid phlebitis, the site of venipuncture must be rotated every few days when prolonged treatment is necessary. It is in instances requiring long-term intravenous therapy that such management becomes difficult. Available veins are soon used up and the patient becomes uncomfortable and uncooperative. In this communication, the use of a simple method of intravenous therapy in eight children for two to six weeks is reported, wherein complete immobilization was not necessary and only a single puncture was needed.
Materials and Method
Special thin-walled, Teflon, 19- to 17-gauge catheters (a modification of the cannula described by Eisenberg1), 50 cm in length (Fig 1), were threaded percutaneously into the