Extravasation

Extravasation of chemotherapy or other intravenous drugs and other substances is best considered a complication of treatment.  However, it is vital to properly treat an extravasation in a way which quickly removes the noxious substance from the tissues if serious damage to the surrounding skin, nerves, tendons and blood vessels is to be avoided.

David Gault developed a method now in use worldwide to prevent the worse effects of extravasation injury known as the flush-out technique.

Patients who believe that they have an ongoing extravasation event should urgently draw this to the attention of their attending healthcare team. Noxious drugs which inadvertently leak from veins into the surrounding tissues should be removed as soon as possible, and certainly within 48 hours of leakage.