Quality standard

This quality standard covers managing intravenous (IV) fluid therapy safely and effectively for adults in hospital. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

It does not cover managing IV fluids for specific conditions or the use of blood or blood products.

NICE has also published a quality standard on intravenous fluid therapy in children and young people in hospital.

How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them

Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them. We check our quality standards every August to make sure they are up to date.