The Effect of Establishing an IV Access Team on the Pain Caused by IV Line Placement in Children with Cancer

Abstract

Background: Pain is an unpleasant sensory and psychological experience. Invasive procedures such as Intravenous (IV) line placement and blood sampling are a major source of pain and fear in hospitalized children. Pain control is one of the important nursing measures. The present study aimed to determine the effect of setting up an IV Access team on reducing pain intensity in children with cancer aged 5 to 7 years.Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on children hospitalized in the hematology department of Dr. Sheikh Children's Hospital in Iran from 21 July to 21 September 2024. 67 children were selected using a census and purposive sampling method. The data collection tool was the FLACC Pain Scale.Results: A total of 67 IV line placements were performed in 53 patients. 40 were boys (75.47%) and 13 were girls (24.52%). The number of IV line placements performed by the IV access team was significantly higher in boys (47 cases) than in girls (20 cases). The results of the severity of children's behavioral reactions to pain showed that 7% experienced mild pain, 12% had moderate pain, 37% showed severe pain, 29% reflected very severe pain, and 15% exhibited the worst pain.Conclusion: Despite the implementation of the IV Access team, no significant reduction in pain severity was observed, suggesting the need for further investigation into alternative pain management strategies.