The leakage can occur through brittle veins in the elderly, through previous venipuncture access, or through direct leakage from wrongly positioned venous access devices.
Extravasation of medication during intravenous therapy is an adverse event related to therapy that, depending on the medication, amount of exposure, and location, can potentially cause serious injury and permanent harm, such as tissue necrosis.
Milder consequences of extravasation include irritation, characterized by symptoms of pain and inflammation, with the clinical signs of warmth, erythema (redness), or tenderness.
Since vesicants are blistering agents, extravasation may lead to irreversible tissue injury.
The following steps are typically involved in managing extravasation: List of vesicant and irritant medications:[2]