Arterial lines are used to monitor blood pressure and obtain blood samples but are usually not intended for drug administration due to the risk of serious tissue damage or even limb amputation. In operating rooms and ICUs, patients often have multiple connections for various purposes. Urgent drug injections, high-stress situations, poor lighting, and practitioner fatigue increase the risk of wrong route drug injections. Despite current measures, intra-arterial injections still occur worldwide. Eliminating injection ports or using only one-way valve ports isn’t feasible, as practitioners need to flush lines and administer certain drugs like Sodium Heparin to prevent complications such as arterial occlusion, thrombosis, and embolism.

An epidural catheter allows access to the epidural space for injecting local anesthetics and other approved medications. Wrong route or unintentional injections into an epidural port can occur, especially when less-skilled medical practitioners mistake the epidural line for a venous line, leading to unauthorized drugs being injected into the epidural space. Such injections are highly undesirable and potentially damaging for patients, with a wide range of adverse events possible, including death.