The purpose of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of transdermal nitroglycerine (TNG) in the treatment of superficial
phlebitis caused by endovenous
catheters and to compare them with the effects from the application of
heparinoid substances. The study performed was prospective, randomized during a six-day period. One hundred patients (73 male and 27 female), aged 28-89 years (mean 67.3), participated in the study; all presented
phlebitis, diagnosed by the presence of
pain,
erythema,
edema, and fibrous cord in the area around the
catheter. Among 50 subjects, two cm of NTG gel were administered to the affected zone once a day, and for the other 50 subjects,
heparinoid substances were applied three times a day. The value parameters were: time for the disappearance of
pain and time for reducing
erythema,
edema, and fibrous cord in half (all measured in hours). We found significant differences between the two treatments with TNG yielding greater improvement in terms of disappearance of
pain (TNG: 50.2 +/- 39.7,
heparinoids: 72.0 +/- 39.9), time for reducing
erythema in half (TNG: 28.0 +/- 24.2,
heparinoids: 54.6 +/- 34.5), and time for reducing fibrous cord in half (TNG: 58.3 +/- 38.4,
heparinoids: 84.5 +/- 41.5).
Edema was reduce before with TNG; however, this difference was not significant (TNG: 31.2 +/- 20.3,
heparinoids: 33.0 +/- 25.7). We conclude that transcutaneous TNG should be applied systematically in patients with superficial
phlebitis, given that it is more effective than the usual treatment with
heparinoid substances.