Aspiration of syringe in depot injections.

[BrianRN-PsychSup]

Hello all,

I was hoping to tap into the vast experience and endless knowledge of the membership here to assist in settling a conundrum.

The issue is the technique of aspiration of the syringe while administering depot injections.

The concern is, is the risk of vascular instillation worth the removal of aspiration step in certain intramuscular sites. Versus the patient not receiving the medication due to the limited release of certain medications such as Risperadol Consta which is only released from the off site pharmacy bi-weekly.

E.G. If a nurse initiates an injection into the deltoid muscle, and aspirates trace or more blood, thus rendering the injection unusable. Taking into consideration the very limited availability of the medication.

Is it a prudent option to avoid using the aspiration step?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Brian

[GalRN]

Thats a really good question. I've wondered myself for a while now. I don't think there is much risk of the med going into a blood vessel in the areas where I inject, but a few times the injection sites have bled more than I was comfortable with.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Can you just not change the needle if this occurs......Yes..... a rare occurrence but I have had it happen and that is what I did.