Intravenous Drug Release from Different Peripheral Catheters

Short peripheral catheters (SPCs) are ubiquitous in today`s healthcare environment. Common complication of SPCs use is thrombophlebitis, inflammation of the vein wall. To date, the biomechanical interaction between the SPCs and the endothelial venous wall has been shown to promote inflammation processes. Very short peripheral catheter (VSPC) is a novel catheter design aimed to reduce the contact between the catheter and the venous wall. The present study aims to explore and compare the dynamics of drug release through the existing SPC and our novel VSPC. Experimental and numerical models were used, and the following parameters were measured; (i) Drug washout time; (ii) Drug distribution within the vein; (iii) Drug velocity at the catheter outflow. The results have shown that VSPC is superior to SPC; both drug velocity and removal time were faster while injected through VSPC, as well as drug distribution that was located away from the vessel wall when compared to the current commercial SPC.