Intravenous Therapy

• The word I/V simply means: within a vein”.
• I/V therapy is the giving of liquid substance directly into a vein.

HISTORY OF I/V THERAPY

Modern I/V therapy is less than a century old. Yet it was known that medications could be injected into a vein as early as 1600s.

Because of a lack of scientific methods , original attempts to deliver IV fluids and drugs met with little success. Two world wars brought in the era of modern IV therapy.

However, the greatest advance in drugs, equipment and procedure has occurred in the past 25 years.

INDICATIONS FOR IV THERAPY

1. Establish or maintain a fluid or electrolyte balance
2. Administer continuous or intermittent medications
3. Administer bolus medication
4. Administer blood or blood components
5. Administer intravenous anesthetics
6. Maintain or correct a patient’s nutritional state
7. Administer diagnostic reagents
8. Monitor hemodynamic functions