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EDITOR
Lenhardt et al say that local warming improves the success rate
for insertion of peripheral cannulas.1 For people working
in a busy outpatient chemotherapy unit, insertion of peripheral cannulas is a core activity and can be extremely difficult,
particularly in patients who have had repeated courses of chemotherapy.
Until recently we asked patients to immerse their hands in warm
water. This manoeuvre was not always successful because by the time
patients had returned to their chair and dried their hands, any benefit
was rapidly reduced. This led us to investigate other forms of local
warming methods, which included proprietary wheat filled bags.
These can be readily purchased in many gift and health shops. A
donation of a sack of wheat has enabled us to provide a number of wheat
filled bags easily and cheaply. Removable cotton covers have also been
made to facilitate laundering. Each bag measures approximately