Every year, billions of patients receive an IV. It’s the most common invasive procedure in modern medicine — and one of the riskiest. Peripheral IV infiltrations and extravasations (PIVIEs) happen every day, in every hospital, on every continent. They are so common they are often dismissed as routine. But make no mistake: IV harm is a global patient safety epidemic.
The numbers are staggering. Research shows up to one in three IVs fail due to infiltration or related complications (Helm et al., Journal of Infusion Nursing, 2015). Some result in mild swelling. Others spiral into severe tissue injury, surgical intervention, or permanent disability. And far too many go unreported, disappearing from the data, robbing us of the chance to learn, challenge the why and ultimately improve clinical practice (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Patient Safety Network).
This World Patient Safety Day, we must face the truth: severe IV harm is preventable.
A Global Problem, A Shared Responsibility
North America:
Despite standardized grading systems such as the Infusion Nurses Society (INS) 1–4 scale and the IEGS Swelling Scale that support benchmarking and process improvement (INS Standards of Practice, 2021), most IV infiltrations and extravasations remain underreported. When harm does make it into safety reports, the true costs are clear: extended hospital stays, delayed therapies, and preventable patient suffering (AHRQ, PSNet). The push toward proactive surveillance technologies is gaining momentum, reflecting a growing recognition that “see and feel” checks are not enough to protect patients.
United Kingdom:
The UK has taken a proactive stance on IV harm, raising awareness and strengthening guidelines with initiatives like the NHS Did You Know? document and the NIVAS Extravasation Toolkit. These resources elevate the importance of early identification, grading, and reporting of PIVIEs, positioning extravasation not as a minor complication but as a critical patient safety issue. By embedding structured tools into practice, the UK is setting a strong example of how proactive frameworks can reduce harm and shape safer standards of care.
Europe:
European hospitals are working to harmonize IV harm reporting and align on grading systems, including INS standards and the IEGS Swelling Scale, but practice and awareness vary widely between countries. The European Society of Intensive Care Medicine has raised concerns about the increased use of high-risk drugs such as vasopressors in peripheral lines, highlighting the urgent need for more consistent reporting and preventive monitoring across the region. Collaboration and shared data are key to addressing this gap.
Asia & the Middle East:
Large multicenter studies are beginning to uncover the scope of the problem. A recent BMJ Open (2024) study of 32,713 IVs in a Qatar NICU showed that severe injuries dropped from 4.9% to 1.1% when ivWatch continuous monitoring was added to routine checks. The evidence underscores the potential impact of early detection in protecting vulnerable neonatal populations.
Low-resource regions:
In areas where access to technology is limited, training and awareness remain the first line of defense. The World Health Organization emphasizes the need to build local capacity, educate clinicians, and establish consistent reporting systems to reduce preventable harm (WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030). Strengthening basic IV safety practices in these settings lays the foundation for longer-term innovation and harm reduction.
From NICUs to oncology wards to ICUs, the story is the same: patients are harmed by IVs every single day, and most of those injuries could have been avoided.
Why Routine Isn’t Enough
Touch, Look, Compare has been the global standard for IV checks for decades—but in practice, it’s subjective, inconsistent, and often too late. Infants can’t say where it hurts. Sedated ICU patients can’t raise the alarm. Potent drugs like vasopressors and vesicants, when delivered peripherally, can turn a small extravasation into a catastrophic injury. And with staffing shortages worldwide, even the best nurses can’t check every line as often as needed.
This is the perfect storm for preventable harm. And unless we change course, the epidemic of IV injury will continue.
Technology as a Turning Point
The World Health Organization’s Global Patient Safety Action Plan (2021–2030) calls on healthcare systems to move from reactive to proactive care—and that’s exactly what ivWatch delivers. With continuous, real-time monitoring that detects what human eyes cannot, ivWatch is helping clinicians intervene earlier and prevent serious harm. In a 2024 BMJ Open NICU study, severe PIVIEs incidents were reduced by more than 93%, with events that might have escalated to Grade 3–4 instead caught sooner and downgraded to Grade 1–2. This objective, technology-driven support empowers clinicians in the highest-risk units and directly aligns with WHO’s call to leverage innovation for harm reduction.
This is what the future of IV safety looks like. A shift from “wait and see” to “detect and prevent.”
A Rallying Cry for Safety
On World Patient Safety Day, we stand with the WHO, with nurses, with risk officers, and — most importantly — with patients. It’s time to call IV harm what it is: an unacceptable, avoidable epidemic.
- Hospitals must stop tolerating preventable IV injuries.
- Clinicians must be empowered with tools, not left to subjective checks alone.
- Leaders must treat infiltration and extravasation reporting as a core safety metric, not an afterthought.
Patient safety is a promise. And IV harm is one place we can deliver on that promise, today.
The Way Forward
ivWatch is more than technology—it’s part of a global movement to make IV harm visible, measurable, and preventable. This World Patient Safety Day, we’re uniting around a simple but powerful commitment: every IV matters, every patient deserves protection, and zero severe infiltrations must be the goal. The epidemic of IV harm is real, but so is the solution. Together, we can change the story and end preventable IV harm everywhere.
Key Resources
- Helm et al., Journal of Infusion Nursing, 2015 — PIV failure rates (15–33%).
- WHO, Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030.
- Infusion Nurses Society (INS), Standards of Practice, 2021.
- BMJ Open, 2024 — Qatar NICU study, 32,713 catheters, severity reduction with ivWatch.
- AHRQ, Patient Safety Network — Preventable harm and cost implications.
- European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, 2022 — Guidance on peripheral vasopressor administration.