Intravenous therapy is an essential aspect of modern healthcare. While the benefits of using intravenous therapy usually outweigh the risks, occasionally the administration of IV therapies can go wrong. Infiltration and extravasation is a complication whereby the drug or IV therapy leaks into the tissues surrounding the vascular access device.
Today the National Infusion and Vascular Access Society (NIVAS) has published a new toolkit intended to enable local services and healthcare organisations to implement polices, protocols and guidelines that will increase awareness about non-chemotherapy extravasations. The toolkit can be accessed here.
Patient Safety Learning welcomes the publication of this toolkit and are pleased to have been able to support NIVAS as they have developed this important patient safety resource.
This toolkit outlines what is meant by infiltration and extravasation and the scale and impact of these injuries within the NHS. It provides information and further resources shaped around a five-stage approach:
To support the implementation of this approach, NIVAS recommends that: