Patient scratched by needle during vaccination

[ajz1215]

I am a GN working for a pediatrician. Before I give any vaccinations to children, I make sure that the parent is holding on to them tightly and explain that they need to keep a good hold on them because someone could get hurt with the needle. I also recheck to make sure that they are still holding them tightly between shots. But as I was giving a vaccination today, the child moved and the needle scratched his arm and it bled. I went and got our doctor who said it was just a superficial scratch, put a large bandaid on it and reassured the mother. This is the first time that this has happened to me and I feel AWFUL. Has this happened to anyone before? Any advice for me regarding how to better handle a situation like this?

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

I have vaccinated many kids and this has happened a few times, sometimes you think the parent has a good hold and then something happens and an accident occurs,as long as it is documented and the parent is aware then all you can do next time is make sure the parent has a strong/firm hold. Accidents happen

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I don't work with peds exclusively but why are you having parents hold? What about one of the office assistants? IMHO, it should be the employee not the parent holding the child. Suppose the parent faints??

[ImThatGuy, BSN, RN]

Better the patient than you. The glass is always half full.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

I don't work with peds exclusively but why are you having parents hold? What about one of the office assistants? IMHO, it should be the employee not the parent holding the child. Suppose the parent faints??

I vaccinated for 3 years and we in most cases had the parent hold the child and it usually worked well, I always had a small bag of chocolate waiting (with parent's permission) and as soon as the child saw the bag they forgot about the injection. We couldn't always get someone from the office to come and do it.

That is how I did it in the UK and it worked very well

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Speaking as a parent, I was always encouraged to hold my child for vaccinations--it was a source of comfort for both of us :)

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Must be different in peds offices. My experience is ER and we never ever let parents hold for anything - always two staff members.

Learned something new.

[Jules A, MSN]

Speaking as a parent, I was always encouraged to hold my child for vaccinations--it was a source of comfort for both of us :)

Thank you for adding this because my first thought was that the parent isn't qualified to do a hold and staff should be doing this for just this reason. I give injections to my peds patients regularly although their parents are not present so I didn't have a frame of reference.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Thank you for adding this because my first thought was that the parent isn't qualified to do a hold and staff should be doing this for just this reason. I give injections to my peds patients regularly although their parents are not present so I didn't have a frame of reference.

Well, most of our needle exerperiences were with vaccinations or antibiotics, my child's condition was stable so we had the benefit of time, and they were administered in doctors' offices. I agree that the rules would probably be different in more acute-care settings or if the child's condition isn't stable.

My child has been in the ED twice. The first time, I helped to hold him while they drew blood. But the second time, since they had to knock him out to stitch him up, I stepped back and left it all up to the pros to handle.

[chloecatrn]

I've never had the parent hold a child because I didn't want the child to associate the parent with holding the child down to cause pain. I prefer two staff members holding while I do the procedure as the parent stands off to the side to soothe. I'm fine with being the bad guy... I just don't want the parent anywhere near the actual causing the pain, unless they're adamant. Of course, if the parent has to learn to give injections to a child who will go home with insulin or something similar, that's a different story...

[haiyangcherry]

Thanks for sharing this information, Today I brought my 2 month old daughter for vaccine shot. The nurse also scratched her leg and it cause bleeding.I held her during the shot. The nurse was NOT careful at all. The nurse didn't ask doctor's help at all, just simply sent us away. I didn't know what to do then. After i read your message, i think I should have asked doctor to see whether the vaccine is done ok and scratch is bad or not. I feel so bad.

[NV Nurse]

I've always held my daughter for injections... Normal practice at the peds office I think. A superficial scratch, while unfortunate, is a scratch. Chalk it up to a learning experience for you and the parent.