Patient organisation comments

Advice

Forty-three patient organisations were contacted, of which 2 replied.

Prostate Cancer UK were uncertain if this technology would offer advantages over existing treatments, warm water and warm pads. It noted that it is important to help accurate cannulation in its patient group because chemotherapy can cause blisters and burn if it is delivered into the tissue rather than diluted rapidly into the blood stream. With each cycle of chemotherapy, the blood vessels can deteriorate, so it is important to avoid failed cannulation attempts. There is also the potential problem of leakage out of holes left from failed cannulation.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia Support Association (CLLSA) noted that it is very distressing for patients, and their care giver, when there are multiple painful and unsuccessful attempts at cannulations. This anxiety is particularly severe for those with poor veins. CLLSA discussed methods of warming the arm, warm pads and hot water, and noted that these are not standardised in terms of timing or temperature, risk damage to the patient, and can be time consuming. It considered that Airglove offered a simple non-invasive solution to the issue of difficult cannulation and would be particularly suitable in elderly patients with fragile skin and veins, and anyone with a communication or learning disability, who may struggle to understand what is happening to them, and would therefore benefit from a smoother and quicker cannulation process.