Resumo (EN)
Objective – To know the nursing care related to peripheral venous catheters in the elderly through the perception of professional nursing assistants and technicians. Methods – The sample was composed of eight industry professionals from medical clinic of a philanthropic hospital in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto-SP. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire with demographic questions and five essay questions. Results – We found that these professionals perceive differences between adult and elderly patients, especially in the integumentary system and circulatory systems. According to the responses to events that reduce the durability of tatheters are related to the fixing and salinition, the most common complications cited were phlebitis and extravasation. Conclusions – Nursing professionals take notice of the difference between adult and elderly care and report precautions to be taken in the venous access procedure. Depite being responsible for venous access, they did not describe the criteria and puncture technique, what makes further research necessary for understanding the tecnique performed by them. This study showed the relationship between elderly accompanied patients and durability of venous access, and recognized the importance of improvement in care.