An injection is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as parenteral administration of medication through a skin puncture via a syringe , while aspiration is defined as the pulling back of the plunger of a syringe (for 5–10 seconds) prior to injecting medicine 1 – 4 .
What happens if you don’t aspirate when giving an IM injection?
Many who did not aspirate felt that aspiration resulted in increased pain . The two RCT’s found that a slower technique that included 5–10 second aspiration were assessed as more painful than a 1–2 second ‘faster’ technique without aspiration (both these studies were in the paediatric setting).
How do you aspirate an injection?
Once you have found your injection site, sanitized it, and prepped it, you can slowly insert your needle as normal. Do not release any fluid into the injection site though. Slowly pull back on the syringe for about three seconds to aspirate the needle.
When do you aspirate when giving an injection?
Aspiration. It is common practice to draw back on a syringe after the needle is inserted to check whether it is in a blood vessel. While it is important to aspirate if the DG muscle site is used – because of proximity to the gluteal artery – it is not required for other IM injection sites (PHE, 2013; Malkin, 2008).
Is it necessary to aspirate when giving an injection?
Aspiration before injection of vaccines or toxoids (i.e., pulling back on the syringe plunger after needle insertion but before injection) is not necessary because no large blood vessels are present at the recommended injection sites, and a process that includes aspiration might be more painful for infants (22).
What do you do if you aspirate blood during IM injection?
If blood is aspirated, remove the needle, discard it appropriately, and re-prepare and administer the medications (Perry et al., 2014).
What happens if im injection hit blood vessel?
You may feel pain and stiffness in the muscle . When a blood vessel breaks, scar tissue or blood clots can form and if a blood clot starts to wander and reaches the heart or lungs, the consequences can be life-threatening. Injections that hit an artery can be particularly dangerous.
What can happen if you aspirate?
Aspiration increases your risk for aspiration pneumonia. This is a condition where pneumonia develops after you’ve inhaled bacteria (through food, drink, saliva, or vomit) into your lungs . Too much liquid in your lungs can also result in a pulmonary edema, which puts a strain on your lungs.
What is the cause of aspiration?
Aspiration is when something you swallow “goes down the wrong way” and enters your airway or lungs . It can also happen when something goes back into your throat from your stomach. But your airway isn’t completely blocked, unlike with choking. People who have a hard time swallowing are more likely to aspirate.
What happens if you accidentally inject air into muscle?
Injecting a small air bubble into the skin or a muscle is usually harmless. But it might mean you aren’t getting the full dose of medicine, because the air takes up space in the syringe .
What size needle is used for intramuscular injection?
Intramuscular (IM) injections
Needle length is usually 1′′–11⁄2”, 22–25 gauge , but a longer or shorter needle may be needed depending on the patient’s weight. Note: An alternate site for IM injection in adults is the anterolateral thigh muscle.
What size needle is used for injections?
Longer needles (1⁄2 inch or longer) are commonly used for intramuscular injections, while shorter (shorter than 1⁄2 inch) needles are more often used for intravenous injections.
Where do you give an intramuscular injection?
- Deltoid muscle of the arm. The deltoid muscle is the site most typically used for vaccines. ...
- Vastus lateralis muscle of the thigh. ...
- Ventrogluteal muscle of the hip. ...
- Dorsogluteal muscles of the buttocks.
Is Bleeding After im injection normal?
Light bleeding at the injection site is normal , but a person can use a bandage if necessary.
Why does medication leak out after injection?
After the medication is injected, the skin and tissue are released . When you insert a needle into the tissues, it leaves a very small hole, or track. Small amounts of medication can sometimes leak backwards through this track and be absorbed into other tissues.
Why should an intramuscular injection be given at a 90 degree angle?
Overwhelmingly the evidence supports a 90 degree angle of needle insertion for intramuscular injection as being that most effective in terms of patient comfort, safety and efficacy of vaccine .
