The One Million Global Catheters PIVC worldwide prevalence study

It is estimated that approximately half the number of all patients admitted to hospital require the insertion of an intravenous cannula into a peripheral vein, for the administration of intravenous fluids, medications and blood products. It is the most common invasive clinical procedure performed in hospitals worldwide (Webster et al, 2008; Ahlqvist et al, 2010). The annual use of peripheral intravenous cannulas (PIVCs) in North America has been reported to be as many as 150-200million units. However, the estimated number of PIVCs used across greater Europe or other regions of the world is largely unknown (Maki et al, 2006; Zingg and Pittet, 2009).