Effect of topical rosemary ointment on the phlebitis and peripheral vascular catheter infection in children

One of the most common complications of peripheral vascular catheter is phlebitis. According to the anti-inflammatory role of Rosemary, this study aimed to determine the effect of rosemary ointment on the phlebitis and infections caused by peripheral vascular catheter in children admitted to the pediatric ward.

This double-blind clinical trial study was conducted on 96 children admitted at pediatric ward of Ganjavian Hospital in Dezful, Iran in 2017. Children were randomly divided into intervention and control groups using permuted block randomization. In the intervention group, 0.5 cc of rosemary ointment was used and in the control group Eucerin ointment was used in the distal IV cannula site. IV cannula site was monitored for every 12 hours for up to 72 hours for control phlebitis and every 24 hours was cleaned and re-ointment was used. If the phlebitis was detected, the IV cannula was isolated sterilized and sent to the laboratory for culture.

Catheter survival time in the intervention group was 9.98 hours higher than the control group (P=0.027) and the incidence of phlebitis in the control group (37.5%) was higher than the intervention group (18.8%) (P=0.034). There was no significant difference in the catheter cannulation in the culture medium between the two groups (P=0.213).

Local application of rosemary ointment can reduce the incidence of phlebitis due to intravenous catheter in children, therefore, it is recommended as a substitute for reducing phlebitis.