Complications of Intraosseous Catheterization in Adult Patients: A Review of the Literature

Purpose of ReviewTherapeutic intraosseous (IO) infusion of fluids and medications can be life-saving under emergent conditions, but may be associated with specific complications. We sought to determine the rate of complications associated with IO use in adult subjects as reported in the existing English-language literature.Recent FindingsMost previous reviews of complications associated with IO catheter use have either focused on a specific complication or included a mixed pool of pediatric and adult subjects. The landmark review in this area was published in 1985, and much new information has been published over the intervening four decades.We identified 36 case reports / series describing 44 patients, and 44 original research reports, including a total of 6,525 adult patients. We found a combined complication rate following successful IO catheter insertion of 4.6%. Larger prospective studies of complications associated with IO catheter use in adult subjects are needed.