Abstract: Objective To analyze the content and evaluate the quality of the guidelines related to peripheral venous access placement for critically ill patients at home and abroad, and to provide guidance for evidence-based clinical practice of peripheral venous access placement for critically ill patients. Methods The guidelines, expert consensus or standards regarding the placement of peripheral venous access for critically ill patients were searched in CNKI, Wangfang Data, PubMed, Web of Science, and websites of related associations. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation Ⅱ (AGREE Ⅱ) was used to evaluate the quality of the included evidence-based guidelines, and expert consensus-based guidelines were evaluated using expert consensus evaluation criteria from JBI Evidence-based Health care centers. Content analysis was used to analyze, summarize and classify the recommendations included in the guidelines. Results Sixteen guidelines were collected, including 11 evidence-based guidelines, and 5 expert consensus-based guidelines. Among the 11 evidence-based guidelines, 6 were rated as A, and 5 as B. The overall evaluation result of 5 expert consensus-based guidelines was "included". Twelve topics, including access selection, placement site, puncture frequency, comfort care, assistive technology and catheter maintenance were summarized in the guidelines. Conclusion The overall quality of the included guidelines is high, and the recommendations have certain guiding significance for clinical practice. However, the rigor, applicability and independence of some evidence-based guidelines still need to be further improved. Expert consensus dominates domestic guidelines, and evidence-based guidelines for establishing peripheral venous access in critically ill patients should be compiled based on Chinese cultural background.

Key words: emergency and critical patient, peripheral venous access, clinical practice guidelines, AGREE Ⅱ, content analysis