Can 2 ml of fluid be administered in deltoid muscle?

[Blackheartednurse]

There are mix opinion about that,just wonder what everyone else would think about that?

Sorry I meant deltoid muscle..

[chloecatrn]

I've always learned that 1 mL is the max for deltoid muscles.

[Orange Tree]

There are mix opinion about that,just wonder what everyone else would think about that?

Sorry I meant deltoid muscle..

Maybe a very large, well-developed one?

[SlightlyMental_RN]

2 mL? Ouch. I'd stick to the 1 mL/deltoid injection.

[LACA, BSN, LPN, RN]

I'm with them...I've always been told 1ml max in the detoid.

[healthstar, BSN, RN]

I was told 0.5 ML max

[chansen]

As with anything in nursing, "it depends." Assessment of the patient is key! "A deltoid" doesn't say much, as the gamut of musculature means a judgement call, just like when you're determining needle length.

[MsbossyRN]

Never heard of that. That would be quite a lot. In what cases would that be the best option? That muscle is not meant for large volume of fluids.

[ProBeeRN, BSN, RN]

I currently have a pt who gets an injection q 2 weeks. It's a 2ml injection and when I tell her that it should be done in the hip/buttock area she refuses and says she wants it in the deltoid. She is a large woman and we have not had a problem, in fact she says it hurts more when I use a different site. Not best practice, but hey, she's alert , oriented, and able to make her own decisions. So we chart it and we give it in the deltoid.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

only if you are built like Rosey Grier or Refrigerator Perry.....

[iteachob, MSN, RN]

From Potter & Perry "Fundamentals of Nursing", regarding the deltoid site:

The nurse should use this site only for small medication volumes, when giving immunizations, or when other sites are inaccessible because of dressings or casts.

I was personally taught to use no more than 0.5 in a child and 1 mL in a well developed adult deltoid.

[GHGoonette, BSN, RN]

Can be done, but as pointed out, only in an adult with a well-developed deltoid, if for any reason it was not possible to give the injection in another site. After all, if the nurse is alone, the patient can't turn without assistance, both upper legs are bandaged etc etc, there's not much alternative. Just use an appropriately sized needle and administer very slowly. Not my idea of fun but sometimes it's unavoidable.