Ask any ward nurse and they'll tell you: IV lines come loose. Patients roll over in their sleep. Children pull at their drips. Confused or agitated patients inadvertently dislodge their cannulas. It's so common that many hospitals accept it as a routine inconvenience — part of the job. But accepted as normal doesn't mean it should be.
The real cost of a dislodged IV
Every time an IV line is dislodged, a chain of consequences follows. The infusion has to be stopped. The site has to be re-assessed. A new cannula has to be inserted — which means another needle stick for the patient, another round of consumables, and more nursing time. If the dislodgement wasn't noticed quickly (as happens frequently overnight or in busy wards), medication or fluids may have been infusing into surrounding tissue rather than the vein — a complication called infiltration, which can cause pain, swelling, and in severe cases, tissue damage. Across a 30-bed ward with multiple IV patients, repeated dislodgements add up to significant hidden costs.
Who is at highest risk?
Not all patients are equally at risk. Neonates and infants are at very high risk because they move continuously and cannot cooperate with IV care. Confused or delirious patients — common in ICUs and post-surgical wards — may inadvertently pull at their lines. Active children are a challenge in any paediatric ward. Elderly patients with fragile veins and thin skin are prone to cannula movement. Patients receiving long-duration infusions — chemotherapy, TPN, antibiotics — have longer exposure windows and therefore more opportunity for dislodgement.
The straightforward solution: a proper IV stabilizer
IV stabilizers — also called IV arm boards or cannula holders — immobilise the arm or hand around the insertion site, preventing the flexion and movement that most commonly causes dislodgement. A good stabilizer is soft and breathable (so patients can wear it for extended periods comfortably), latex-free, single-use for infection control, and available in sizes appropriate for the patient — Small for neonates and infants, Medium for paediatric patients, and Large for adults. When consistently used, IV stabilizers have been shown to reduce dislodgement rates by over 60% in clinical studies.
Making stabilizers standard practice
Many Indian hospitals still rely on adhesive tape alone to secure IV lines — a practice that is less effective and more likely to cause skin damage on prolonged use. Introducing proper IV stabilizers as a standard consumable, like cannulas and dressings, is a low-cost, high-impact improvement that any ward can implement immediately.