Treatment of Neonatal Extravasation Injuries Using Non-Contact, Low-Frequency Ultrasound: Development of a New Treatment Protocol

Intravenous therapy is essential in the treatment of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit; however, complications such as extravasation can occur. Extravasation, an inadvertent leakage of fluid from an intravenous site into the surrounding soft tissue, can cause partial and full thickness wounds. Therefore, wound management is an important component of care in the premature infant population and appropriate treatments are necessary. A review of the literature confirms there is currently no gold standard for treatment of extravasation injuries in neonates. Non-contact, low-frequency ultrasound, performed by physical and occupational therapists, can be a feasible and efficacious treatment for extravasation injuries sustained by preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. This manuscript presents current evidence on treatment of extravasation and proposes a new protocol that can assist with guiding physical and occupational therapists, as well as other health care providers, in treating extravasation injuries using non-contact, low-frequency ultrasound in neonates.