Effect of Hand Fist-Clenching Exercise Versus Topical Aloe Vera Gel in the Prevention of Peripheral Intravenous Catheter-Related Phlebitis Among Adult Patients

November 9, 2026 updated by: Fatima Hussein Ali Hamad

This study aims to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of hand fist-clenching exercises versus topical Aloe Vera gel in preventing peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC)-related phlebitis among adult patients. Phlebitis is a common complication associated with IV therapy. The study will assess adult patients admitted to the internal medicine wards to determine which preventive intervention is more effective in reducing the incidence of phlebitis."

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Are adults aged 18 years and above.

  2. Require peripheral intravenous catheterization.

  3. Have no signs of phlebitis at the selected IV insertion site before catheterization.

  4. Have intact skin at the selected IV insertion site.

  5. Are conscious and able to cooperate with the study procedures.

  6. Are able to perform the hand fist-clenching exercise.

  7. Agree to participate in the study.

    -

Exclusion Criteria:Participants with:

  1. Patients with existing phlebitis at the selected IV insertion site.

  2. Patients with skin disorders or lesions at the selected IV insertion site.

  3. Patients with acute or chronic infections.

  4. Patients with peripheral vascular disease or vascular abnormalities affecting the selected limb.

  5. Patients with conditions that prevent or limit performing the hand fist-clenching exercise.

  6. Patients who are unconscious, confused, or unable to cooperate with the study procedures.

  7. Patients with a known allergy or hypersensitivity to Aloe Vera or any component of the topical gel.

  8. Patients requiring immediate removal of the peripheral intravenous catheter before completion of the observation period.

    -

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: control group
Experimental: hand fist -clenching exercise
Behavioral: Hand fist -clenching exercise

Initiation and Patient Education: Hand fist-clenching exercise will be initiated immediately after insertion of the peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC). The exercise will be taught to the patient by the researcher, and the procedure will be demonstrated to ensure that the patient understands how to perform it.

Exercise Procedure: The patient will perform the exercise by making a fist with the hand in which the PIVC is inserted. The fist will be maintained for 30 seconds to 1 minute for each repetition.

Frequency and Duration: The exercise will be performed approximately 20 times during each session, with each session lasting 5-10 minutes. The exercise will be performed twice daily.

Supervision: The patient's performance of the exercise will be conducted under the supervision of the researcher.
Experimental: topical aloe vera gel
Other: topical Aloe vera gel

Catheter Insertion Site Preparation and Insertion

  • Within the aloe vera gel intervention group, the intended catheterinsertion site underwent initial disinfection using a 70% ethyl alcoholsolution.

  • Subsequent to the complete evaporation of the alcohol, the nurseintroduced the angiocatheter , and its position was stabilized throughthe application of an angiocatheter securement adhesive.

  • Finally, 0.5 cc of aloe vera gel was topically applied to the superioraspect of the aforementioned adhesive..

    2. Follow-up and Assessment

  • The insertion sites were monitored every 12 hours for a period following catheter placement to detect any indications of phlebitis,which were documented dichotomously (Yes/No).

    3. Standardization of Catheter Insertion

  • The angiocatheter insertions were executed by a registered nurse with a decade of professional experience within the internal medicine department.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
incidence of peripheral intravenous catheter -related Phlebitis
Time Frame: assessed twice daily for 48 hours

The incidence of phlebitis will be assessed using the Visual Infusion Phlebitis (VIP) scale. The VIP scale ranges from 0 (no signs of phlebitis) to 5 (advanced stage of thrombophlebitis). A score of 1 or greater indicates the occurrence of phlebitis
assessed twice daily for 48 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fatima Hussein Ali Hamad

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

November 22, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 9, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

November 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 9, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Aloe vera-fist PIVC phlebitis

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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