This chapter provides an overview of the categories of infusions that may be administered in the home setting.

Resources for the home infusion nurse are provided. The 2024 Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice is highlighted along with other applicable practice guidelines. Information about selected professional organizations, such as the Infusion Nurses Society and the Association for Vascular Access, is also provided.

The author’s Model for Safe Home Infusion Therapy is described in the context of evidence supported in the 2024 Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice.

This chapter provides an overview of three categories of peripheral IV catheters. This includes short versus long peripheral catheters and midline catheters, which are increasingly used for shorter courses of home IV antibiotic therapy.

Attention to an appropriate catheter size and selecting the best insertion site for short PIVCs is important when considering both the safety of the home care patient and optimizing catheter dwell time.

Important to the actual insertion of a short peripheral catheter is attending to procedures to reduce the risk for infection, including skin antisepsis and aseptic insertion. Catheter securement and dressings are important to reduce the risk for both infection and inadvertent catheter dislodgment. Often under-addressed, pain management strategies should be considered during the insertion procedure.

Post-insertion care includes attention to maintaining catheter patency, infection prevention, including needleless connector disinfection, and rotation of short peripheral catheters. For midline catheters with longer dwell time, ongoing site care is done minimally on a weekly basis. Prompt recognition of complications is accomplished through ongoing home care nurse assessment and through patient education.

This chapter provides an overview of three categories of external CVADs: nontunnelled, peripherally inserted central catheters, and subcutaneously tunneled cuffed catheters.

Ongoing assessment is important in identifying potential CVAD complications. Assessment includes the components of site/extremity visualization, palpation, and identification of any patient symptoms or complaints.

Post-insertion care includes attention to maintaining catheter patency; infection prevention, including catheter hub care; routine site care; and use of a securement intervention. Patient education addressing site protection and identification of potential complications is essential.

CVADs can be safely removed in the home when risks such as air embolism and thrombotic clots are understood. This session addresses key procedural interventions for safe catheter removal.

Implanted ports may have one or two lumens and may be power-injectable, and there are ports with very specific indications. They may be placed in the chest or an extremity. The home care nurse must possess an understanding of differences and must use sound processes in port identification.

Prior to port access, it is important to assess the port and its locations and address the patient’s need for pain management during the access procedure. Critical aspects of the actual port access procedure include skin antisepsis, needle selection, and establishment of patency.

Complications include infection, catheter-associated thrombosis, catheter malposition, and infiltration or extravasation. Prevention, identification, and interventions in the event of a complication are addressed.

This chapter addresses complications including phlebitis, infiltration/extravasation, and nerve injury. The focus is on identifying, preventing, and intervening in the event of a complication.

This chapter addresses complications specific to central vascular access devices, including catheter occlusion, catheter-associated thrombosis, CVAD tip migration, and catheter damage. The focus is on identifying, preventing, and intervening in the event of a complication.

In this chapter, two serious but preventable systemic complications—bloodstream infection and air embolism—are addressed. The focus is on identifying, preventing, and intervening in the event of a complication.

This session focuses on practices including reviewing provider orders, verifying infusion medications or solutions in the home, and medication reconciliation. It also addresses the issue of when/how to do independent double checks of high-risk medications in the home.

In this session, interventions to reduce the risk for complications during home infusion therapy are addressed. This includes a review of Aseptic Non Touch Technique during infusion, compounding and preparation of infusion medications, setting up the infusion in a home setting, use of SASH, and putting a plan in place for monitoring for complications relative to the home infusion medication(s).

This session reviews the most common home infusion administration methods, with attention to advantages and disadvantages of each.

Effective patient education is critical to optimizing outcomes. Identifying potential barriers or facilitators to learning is essential in developing the patient education plan. Education should be consistent, with attention to plain language, and learning evaluated using evidence-based strategies.