Can Biosensor Monitoring Reduce Extravasation Harm in Paediatric Intensive Care?
Posted
on 11 August 2026
 "Can Biosensor Monitoring Reduce Extravasation Harm in Paediatric Intensive Care?")
| Study Overview Extravasation injuries occur when intravenous fluid or medication leaks from a peripheral venous access device into surrounding tissue. Children in intensive care may be particularly vulnerable because of sedation, fragile veins, complex treatments, and difficulty communicating pain or discomfort. This randomised controlled trial compared standard clinical observation with standard observation plus an ivWatch tissue-infiltration biosensor. The study included 175 children in a Queensland paediatric intensive care unit who were receiving intermediate or high-risk intravenous medications. Key Findings Extravasation injury severity was similar between the biosensor and standard care groups. Most injuries were mild, and no severe injuries occurred in either group. The biosensor did not significantly reduce extravasation severity, injury volume, number of peripheral devices used, or device dwell time. The technology was feasible to use in a busy paediatric intensive care setting. Nurses who participated in the evaluation generally found the biosensor acceptable and reported that it had little impact on routine site assessments. Implications In this high-resource paediatric intensive care setting, adding biosensor monitoring to established clinical observation did not provide a measurable reduction in extravasation injury severity. These findings should be considered within the study context. Close nursing observation, strong awareness of extravasation risk, and frequent use of central venous access may already have supported early detection and limited serious harm. The study provides valuable evidence about where continuous biosensor monitoring may or may not add benefit. Further research across general paediatric wards, neonatal units, and settings with different staffing levels and vascular access practices will help determine whether the technology has a role in other patient groups. Read more:https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.70378 Authors: Craig A. McBride; Sarfaraz Rahiman; Melanie Kennedy; Luregn J. Schlapbach; Jessica A. Schults; Tricia M. Kleidon; Thim Baveas; Rebecca Paterson; Joshua Byrnes; Robert S. Ware; Amanda J. Ullman |
