Early detection of infiltration is one of the most important tasks of nurses to minimize skin damage due to infiltration. For subjects receiving invasive intravenous treatment, the bioelectrical impedance (impedance) were measured in the frequency range of 5 to 500 kHz using bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS). After attaching electrodes at both ends of a transparent dressing mounted on the skin in which IV solution was infused into the vein, the change in impedance was measured as a function of time and frequency before and after infiltration. The experimental results are described as follows. When IV solution was properly infused into the vein, the impedance was nearly constant over time and decreased with increasing frequency. However, when infiltration occurred, the impedance decreased significantly and thereafter gradually decreased with time. In addition, impedance decreased with time for all applied frequencies. In this study, when IV solution penetrated into the surrounding skin and subcutaneous tissue by infiltration, impedance was quantitatively analyzed for as a function of time and frequency. This suggests a method for early detection of infiltration using BIS.

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