👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-08-23🏷️ Pharmacological Therapies🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Also known as: IV line · peripheral IV · intravenous catheter · IV drip
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Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent IV Therapy and Site Care on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
🩺 Signs
Infiltration: cool, pale, swollen, no blood return
Phlebitis: warm, red, hard cord, tender
Extravasation = vesicant leak → tissue necrosis
✅ Do
Stop infusion, D/C IV, elevate limb
Warm compress phlebitis; cool for infiltrate
Flush w/ saline; verify blood return
🚩 Report
Air embolism: sudden SOB, chest pain
Streaking, fever, purulent = infection
📌 Avoid
Never use IV w/o blood return for vesicants
Don't re-prime infiltrated line
📚 IV Therapy and Site Care — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what must be reported, and what to teach.
Peripheral IV therapy delivers fluids, medications, and blood through a catheter in a peripheral vein. Nursing care ensures patency, prevents complications (infiltration, phlebitis, infection), and protects the site. Key principle: assess the site every shift/before each use, and stop the infusion at the first sign of a complication.
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Key points
Understand these first
Infiltration = a cool, pale, swollen site (fluid leaks into tissue); phlebitis = a warm, red, tender, cordlike vein (inflammation).
Extravasation is infiltration of a vesicant drug and can cause tissue necrosis; stop infusion immediately and follow drug-specific protocol.
Always verify a blood return and flush easily before administering medication.
Rotate peripheral sites and change the dressing per policy; assess the site for redness, swelling, and drainage every shift.
Use the smallest gauge that meets the therapy and choose the most distal suitable vein first.
Air in the line and rapid/large air boluses risk air embolism; clear air from tubing before connecting.
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Nursing priorities
What to do, in order
Assess the IV site for patency, infiltration, phlebitis, and infection before each use and routinely.
Stop the infusion and discontinue the IV at the first sign of infiltration or phlebitis, then restart in a new site.
Verify the right fluid/rate and check for blood return before giving IV medications.
Maintain a clean/dry dressing and label tubing and site with date.
Monitor for fluid overload (lung sounds, edema, weight) especially in older adults and heart/kidney clients.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
Vesicant extravasation: stop the infusion immediately, leave the catheter, aspirate, and follow antidote protocol to prevent necrosis.
Signs of fluid overload (dyspnea, crackles, JVD, sudden weight gain) require slowing the rate and notifying the provider.
Fever, site redness with purulent drainage, or red streaking suggests infection/systemic spread; report.
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Labs & values
Numbers to know
Serum electrolytes (Na 135 to 145, K 3.5 to 5.0 mEq/L)
Monitor BUN/creatinine and intake/output for fluid status
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Patient teaching
What patients must know
Report pain, burning, swelling, redness, or leaking at the IV site right away.
Avoid bumping or pulling on the IV and tell staff if the pump alarms.
Keep the arm with the IV positioned to avoid kinking the line.
❓ IV Therapy and Site Care: NCLEX FAQs
What are the priority nursing interventions for IV Therapy and Site Care?
Assess the IV site for patency, infiltration, phlebitis, and infection before each use and routinely. Stop the infusion and discontinue the IV at the first sign of infiltration or phlebitis, then restart in a new site. Verify the right fluid/rate and check for blood return before giving IV medications. Maintain a clean/dry dressing and label tubing and site with date.
What are the warning signs of IV Therapy and Site Care a nurse must report?
Vesicant extravasation: stop the infusion immediately, leave the catheter, aspirate, and follow antidote protocol to prevent necrosis. Signs of fluid overload (dyspnea, crackles, JVD, sudden weight gain) require slowing the rate and notifying the provider. Fever, site redness with purulent drainage, or red streaking suggests infection/systemic spread; report.
What do I need to know about IV Therapy and Site Care for the NCLEX?
Infiltration = a cool, pale, swollen site (fluid leaks into tissue); phlebitis = a warm, red, tender, cordlike vein (inflammation). Extravasation is infiltration of a vesicant drug and can cause tissue necrosis; stop infusion immediately and follow drug-specific protocol. Always verify a blood return and flush easily before administering medication. Rotate peripheral sites and change the dressing per policy; assess the site for redness, swelling, and drainage every shift.
What patient teaching is important for IV Therapy and Site Care?
Report pain, burning, swelling, redness, or leaking at the IV site right away. Avoid bumping or pulling on the IV and tell staff if the pump alarms. Keep the arm with the IV positioned to avoid kinking the line.
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Quick Tip
Infiltration = a cool, pale, swollen site (fluid leaks into tissue); phlebitis = a warm, red, tender, cordlike vein (inflammation).