HELP.Giving magnesium sulfate T.I.M

[ArwenRivendell]

I am a a junior at a hospital and was designated to give magnesium sulfate through the buttocks and I did make sure to palpate the hipbone to properly locate the right part to stick the needle. Now the part where I stuck the needle was a bit bruised from previous medication with the same medicine and the needle mark is still visible. So I decided to put it in between the two needle marks and I was sure that my location is correct. I did aspirate and when I saw there is no backflow I slowly administered the second dose without taking out the needle, my concern is when I removed the needle there was blood flowing out and I asked my senior about it and she asked me if I did Aspirate and I said yes there wasn't blood before and when i replaced the syrige there was blood. She checked on the patient and there is no sign that I hit the sciatic nerve. So she told me to go continue. I Did and after that I monitored the patient and she seemed fine and walking. Could someone explain Why was there blood? Because when i did administer it before other patients I didn't encounter this incident. Does it have something to do with the bruise?

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

If there was a small amount of blood oozing out from the puncture site when you pulled the needle out you need not worry, just dab it away and apply a band-aid. If you pulled back blood into the syringe at any point you were probably in a blood vessel.

[LakeEmerald]

Just curious, are new nurses are being taught to give IM injections in the buttock area? I thought this practice had been rejected because of potentially hitting the sciatic nerve? We were taught to use the ventralgluteal and it's what I mostly use (although it can be difficult to find in really large patients), but I never use the buttock. I do know many nurses, however, who do still use the buttock, I just find it risky.

But no, a small drop of blood isn't a big deal, and you probably wouldn't see blood if you hit the sciatic nerve anyway. Sometimes, when you pull the needle out a patient bleeds, and sometimes, you can't even see where you stuck them.

[Tex.]

We were taught that is the last place you should choose. Sciatic issues and all.

[wanderlustnurse88, RN]

When I was in school 5 years ago, they never taught us to landmark on the hip or buttock. We always did thigh and deltoid.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

IM mag is given deep im in ventrogluteal and it works A drop of blood is not significant. You gave a med to treat hypomagnesia and it may have saved her from developing a life threatening arrythmia called torsades so.... good job.