Peripheral intravenous access in pediatric inpatients. 
Peripheral intravenous (PIV) line placement is a time-consuming procedure performed on the majority of general pediatric inpatients, with significant discomfort to patients.  To determine parameters of pediatric PIV placement, including success rates, time to success, and factors associated with success.  Prospective study involving direct observation of PIV placement by trained research staff.  General inpatient wards at 2 medium-sized pediatric hospitals.  Hospitalized children younger than 19 years.  Successful placement was achieved in 95.8% (567/592) cases with a median time of 9 minutes.  Children younger than 2 years were less likely to have success on the first attempt (38.9% vs 53.5%) and have longer time to success (11 minutes).  Children younger than 2 years experienced lower first-attempt successful PIV placement and took longer.  The overall success rate was similar to prior reports; these data are the first to show differential PIV success by patient age.