Ten years of clinical experience with cyanoacrylate glue for venous access in a 1300-bed university hospital

Abstract

In the past decade, cyanoacrylate glue has been progressively introduced into the clinical practice of venous access devices used for different purposes. Glue has been used to increase device stabilisation (to reduce the risk of catheter dislodgement), to seal the exit site (to both reduce local bleeding and decrease the risk of bacterial contamination) and to close skin incisions required for the insertion of tunnelled catheters or totally implanted venous ports. For many of these purposes, the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of cyanoacrylate glue has been demonstrated, while some indications are still controversial. This article reports on 10 years of clinical experience with cyanoacrylate glue in a large university hospital, and provides a narrative review of the scientific evidence on the benefits of glue in venous access that has been accumulating over the past decade.