OBJECTIVES: To identify the risk factors for the development of phlebitis, the length of time with a peripheral intravenous catheter, and the incidence of phlebitis among neurosurgical patients. METHODS: this was a prospective cohort study. The sample consisted of 60 patients who underwent neurosurgery in a Brazilian hospital. A total of 152 peripheral intravenous catheters were identified. RESULTS: The risk factors for the development of phlebitis were the permanence of catheter longer than 72 hours, intermittent maintenance of the catheters, and catheters that had been inserted in the postoperative period. The length of time with a catheter ranged from 2 to 216 hours. Phlebitis developed among 10.5% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of phlebitis among this study's sample is higher than the rate recommended by the International Standards of Practice.
Phlebitis; Postoperative period; Nervous system diseases; Infusions, intravenous
