Iron deficiency anemia impacts approximately 37% of pregnant women worldwide and 15-25% in the US, making it the most common form of anemia. The condition can lead to a range of symptoms, including shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, headaches, and pale skin. Most alarmingly for pregnant women, it can lead to serious complications for them and their babies, including preterm birth and preeclampsia.
While antenatal iron deficiency anemia is commonly treated with iron supplements, intravenous (IV) iron infusion therapy is increasingly being used, particularly among women with persistent or severe anemia or in situations when oral iron is poorly tolerated, causes gastrointestinal side effects, or fails to correct anemia adequately. IV therapy can quickly improve iron levels, especially when time is of the essence.
IV infusions are generally considered safe. But when iron leaks into tissue surrounding the vein during an infusion, known as extravasation, the skin around the infusion site can become damaged and/or discolored, frequently a rusty brown. Often taking weeks or even months to fully manifest, this staining is often permanent and can lead to psychological impacts in addition to the visible injury.
Vascular access specialist and IV safety advocate Andrew Barton, nurse consultant at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, recently oversaw a trial of ivWatch’s sensor technology in the U.K., which demonstrated a reduction by 100% in the rate of extravasation injury while also increasing the accuracy of vascular injury diagnosis overall.
After more than a year of zero iron extravasations in the Frimley intravenous and vascular access services (IVAS) unit, the use of ivWatch’s advanced IV monitoring technology has now been expanded into the Frimley maternity unit at two additional sites.
“Iron extravasations can be devastating for the patient and have lifelong effects,” noted Barton. “Prior to the introduction of ivWatch in my unit, we were seeing 2-3 extravasations per week, and we now do not have any injuries, which saves money and time and is brilliant for patient safety. ivWatch technology is now a standard of care in my unit which has played a major role in the early identification of extravasations and treatments.”
Last year, ivWatch received its sixth FDA clearance and is able to detect iron sucrose leaking outside of the vein, before it can evolve to harmful conditions. ivWatch also recently announced it received market authorization under its EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) CE Mark for the detection of iron extravasation events by its patented SmartTouch Sensor and patient monitoring system, following the company’s receipt of the European Union’s coveted MDR Certificate.
The implementation of the ivWatch system in the maternity units reflects a proactive approach to patient safety, minimizing risk and improving the overall experience of care for expectant mothers.
To better understand how these injuries occur, download The Causes Tool, a great resource to use in your nursing stations and share with others, and this educational tool outlines key facts about iron extravasation.
Learn more about ivWatch and how continuous monitoring for IV infiltration and extravasation can help to protect patients.