Intravenous (IV) catheters, both central and peripheral, are among the most common invasive clinical devices used in a hospital setting, with up to 70% of patients in the United States requiring at least one IV catheter during an episode of care [1]. Because these devices allow intravenous administration of drugs, fluids, and blood products, they are a critical aspect of patient care. In the United States alone, healthcare providers insert between 150 -300 million peripheral IV catheters and 5 million central IV catheters in hospitalized patients each year [1][2][3]. Unfortunately, IVs are also associated with high complication rates. Even in large medical centers with dedicated phlebotomy teams, the IV catheter failure rate is between 35% and 50% [4]. These frequent failures are costly to both the
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