The hospitalized patient is often older, malnourished, and dehydrated, making initial venipuncture difficult.
Difficult venipuncture can cause pain for the patient.
Pain increases a patient's anxiety which in return stimulates the sympathetic nervous system causing vasoconstriction and makes venipuncture more difficult for the clinical nurse. Xylocaine infiltration before venipuncture can greatly reduce the pain associated with venipuncture. In acute care settings, IV therapy often needs to be initiated quickly for the patient's treatment. The onset of action of the Xylocaine infiltration occurs rapidly allowing the venipuncture procedure to be performed quickly with reduced pain or discomfort to the patient. The use of Xylocaine to decrease the pain and discomfort of IV therapy initiation is poorly documented in the nursing literature.