Dangers of Peripheral IVs: Pain, Local Infection, Thrombophlebitis, and Bloodstream Infections

Greg Vigna, MD

Delays in phlebitis care can lead to serious complications, and nurses and doctors must act quickly with clear plans to prevent infection and organ damage

SANTA BARBARA, CA, UNITED STATES, June 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “Hospital medicine requires both nurses and doctors to understand the serious risks of acute phlebitis from peripheral IVs and to promptly assess and treat complications as they arise, ” states Greg Vigna, MD, JD, Board Certified in Physical Medicine.

Dr. Greg Vigna, national PICC line attorney, states, “Peripheral vein catheters can cause pain with varying degrees of inflammation at the implantation site due to mechanical and immunologic interactions between the polyurethane tubing and the vein. Symptoms and signs of this inflammation of the vein is referred as acute phlebitis. Acute phlebitis may also result from infection and thrombosis of the superficial veins.”

Dr. Vigna states, “Hospital physicians should not discharge patients with phlebitis caused by a peripheral vein catheter unless there is a clear plan of care in place to prevent further infective complications caused by the intravenous catheter tubing. Treatments will require removal of the peripheral venous catheter and may include antibiotics and, in some cases, surgery.”

Dr. Vigna adds, “Regardless of the the treatment plan, there must be a reasonable basis for its effectiveness, it must be initiated, and there should be clinical improvement indicate that further complications of infection are unlikely.”

Read “Management, clinical outcomes, and complications of acute cannula-related peripheral vein phlebitis of the upper extremity: A retrospective study” published in Phlebology 2015, Vol 90(6) 381-388: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4237185/

Dr. Vigna, concludes, “Management of phlebitis is straightforward, and both nurses and doctors should be informed about the risks and required treatments. What cannot happen are delays in assessment and treatment. A plan of care must be in place, and patients must be educated about the risks of infected peripheral thrombophlebitis. Incomplete or ineffective treatment can lead to complications, including endocarditis, septic joints, vertebral osteomyelitis, discitis, and septic shock.”

What is sepsis? Multiple organ damage caused by inflammation due to infection that may result in organ damage to brain, kidneys, heart, liver, and lungs.

What is septic shock? A life-threatening condition that causes dangerously low blood pressure due to infection that may result in amputations of fingers and toes, brain damage, kidney failure, ventilator dependence, oxygen dependence, and nerve damage.

Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who represents those with serious injuries caused by defective medical devices that lead to sepsis, including PICC line and Med-Ports. He represents the injured with the Ben Martin Law Group, a national pharmaceutical injury law firm in Dallas, Texas. The attorneys are product liability and medical malpractice attorneys, and they represent the most injured across the country.

Greg Vigna, MD, JD
Vigna Law Group
+1 8178099023
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