More than 90% of hospitalized patients require some
type of infusion therapy. 
430 Copyright © 2014 Infusion Nurses Society Journal of Infusion Nursing
Copyright © 2015 Infusion Nurses Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
1
 While the therapy is needed to
provide fluids, medication, and nutrition, special attention
must be paid to avoid potentially devastating complications.
One of the most frequent complications of
infusion
therapy is infiltration. For the purposes of this
discussion,
infiltration is defined as the “inadvertent
administration
of a non vesicant solution or medication
into
the tissue surrounding the IV catheter.” 
2
 This typically
accidental occurrence can result in pain, tissue and
nerve
damage, and loss of function.