IM injection alternating site

Legion6789 · Jul 21, 2009

I'm not a medical professional, but I self administer IM injections EOD. I don't like to hit the same site twice in one week. Otherwise I can't sit down, or walk. Why not do glute, glute, quad, quad, glute?

iteachob, MSN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

It would be a whole lot easier (and less painful) to self inject ventral gluteal than dorsogluteal.....

flowerbug · Jul 21, 2009

Would this be harmful to get all in glute throughout the week?

PAERRN20 · Jul 21, 2009

You could do the vastus lateralis as well.

RNKel, ASN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

I didn't realize anyone still used the dorsogluteal site! We were taught in NS that it is not used any longer, and I've never seen it used in practice.

lisamc1RN, LPN · Jul 21, 2009

I don't think most hospitals/nursing homes are caught up to the new standards? Dorsogluteal sites are not recommended anymore because of the risk of injury. I would rotate ventrogluteal sides. Ask the patient how sore they are and if they need a break from those sites. Then I would probably put it in the vastus lateralis.

MedSurgeMess · Jul 21, 2009

I didn't realize anyone still used the dorsogluteal site! We were taught in NS that it is not used any longer, and I've never seen it used in practice.

This is the case where I teach as well, and we follow the same practice where I work. Dorsogluteal site has been removed from the usable sites d/t the risk of hitting the sciatic nerve and doing damage. Rotate between vastus lateralis and ventrogluteal.

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

5 days of IM Rocephin? That doctor must have been ticked off or something when he wrote those orders.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

5 days of IM Rocephin? That doctor must have been ticked off or something when he wrote those orders.

Some folks just won't keep the danged IV in. No matter how closely they're watched, they whip that IV out faster'n lightning.

That's why I've had a few folks with orders like that.

Trishalishus, PhD, CNS · Jul 22, 2009

There's nothing in the drugs handbook I looked at that say it's a painful or problematic drug to administer.

We were given an article by a lecturer that says ventrogluteal (gluteus medius muscle) is now preferred to dorsal (Greenway, K., 2004, Using the ventrogluteal site for intramuscular injection, Nursing Standard, 18(25): 39-42).

Is this not so in USA?

The article's reasoning is basically that ventral is less risk to major blood vessels and nerves plus a consistent thinness of subcutaneous tissue (fat) over the injection site.

Best wishes