Sir, in the United Kingdom, peripheral intravenous cannulation using open cannulae is a technique routinely undertaken by dental staff within certain settings, for example hospital wards or dental practices where intravenous sedation is carried out.

Successful cannulation takes practice, which can be daunting for inexperienced operators and can result in blood spillage. This is particularly the case when some newer designs of safety cannula (designed to prevent sharps injury) are used, as there can be a need to counteract increased resistance when removing the needle compared to when using older types.

This adds further complexity to the procedure and thus increases the risk of blood spillage, which can not only cause a mess, but also a potential contamination risk to those cleaning up afterwards.

Disposable dental patient bibs with plastic backs and adhesive tabs for attaching to the wearer's clothing are widely available.

Within our sedation clinic, a technique has been devised whereby the adhesive tabs are used to secure the bib to the clothing surrounding the arm proximal to the selected vein prior to cannulation.

This means that the bib is held securely in position below the arm, and provides a convenient and reassuring means of protection in case of blood leakage during the cannulation procedure (as shown in Fig. 1). Following the procedure, disposal in the clinical waste is straightforward.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Bib applied prior to cannulation, and subsequent demonstration of protection following blood spillage during the procedure

Full size image

We wish to share this practical alternative use of the dental patient bib with your readers, and particularly those who are new to intravenous cannulation.