Medications via Injections
Contents
• Equipment
• Route
• Site
• Technique
• Safety
Equipments
Route of Injection
Reasons for Giving Medications by Injection
• Rapid action required
• Delivery to specific location/tissue
required
• Drug altered by intestinal secretions
• Drug not absorbed by GI tract
• Patient cannot take oral drug
• Drug unavailable in oral form
Patient preparation
• Promote comfort and relaxation
• Explain reason for injection
• Describe procedure
• Obtain informed consent
• Check for allergies/anaphylaxis
• Check prescription/drug/patient identity
• Check expiration dates and record lot numbers
• Position patient
Route of Injection
• The route of administration is the path by
which a vaccine (or drug) is brought into
contact
• A substance must be transported from the
site of entry to the part of the body where
its action is desired to take place.
Syringe
• A syringe has three main parts:
• a barrel,
• a plunger and
• a needle.
• The barrel holds the medication. The
plunger pushes the medication from
the barrel through the needle. The
needle delivers the medication into
the injection site.
Parts of the syringe
Types of injections
• Intramuscular (into a muscle)
• Subcutaneous (under the skin)
• Intradermal
• Intravenous (into a vein)
Intramuscular injection
• Intramuscular (IM)
injection administers the medicine
into the muscle mass. Medicines
containing adjuvants should be injected
IM to reduce adverse local effects.
• For intramuscular injections:
• • 21G or 23G
• • Green or Blue hub
• • Length depends on patient and site
Standard injection sites for IM
• The Deltoid
• The Ventrogluteal site
• The Dorsogluteal site
• The Vastus laterals
Procedure for IM injection
• Intramuscular injection Once the site is clean, follow these steps when
giving yourself an intramuscular injection:
• → REMOVE the needle cover; DO NOT TOUCH the needle
• → STRETCH the skin of the injection site slightly using your thumb and
index finger
• → RELAX the muscle you will be injecting; this will make the injection
less painful
• → HOLD the syringe at a 90-degree angle from the injection site
• → QUICKLY INSERT the needle in a steady motion; inserting the needle
slowly is more painful
• Carefully inject the medication; continue until the
injection is complete (some devices require additional
time to ensure all the medication has been administered)
• → Gently but quickly remove the needle at the same
angle it was inserted
• → Immediately place the needle in a Sharps container
(see page 11 of this guide)
• → Apply pressure to the injection site with a gauze pad
Intramuscular injection
Routes of administration vary to
maximize effectiveness of vaccine
Subcutaneous
injections
• For Subcutaneous
injections
• 25G or 26G
• Orange or Brown hub
• Length depends on
patient
and site
Subcutaneous injection
• Subcutaneous injections are administered in the fat
layer, underneath the skin.
• Subcutaneous injection Once the site is clean, the steps
involved in giving yourself a subcutaneous injection are:
• → REMOVE the needle cover; DO NOT TOUCH the needle
• → GENTLY PINCH one to two inches of skin at the
injection site
• → HOLD the syringe at a 45-to 90-degree angle from the
injection site
• → QUICKLY INSERT the needle in a steady motion;
inserting the needle slowly is more painful
Subcutenous Injection
Subcutenous Injection
Procedure
• Carefully inject the medication; continue
until the injection is complete (some devices
require additional time to ensure all the
medication has been administered)
• → Gently but quickly remove the needle at
the same angle it was inserted
• → Immediately place the needle in a Sharps
container (see page 11 of this guide)
• → Apply pressure to the injection site with a
gauze pad
Intradermal injections
• Intradermal injections are delivered into the dermis
• Intradermal injections can be delivered using either
normal-sized needles (Mantoux technique) or devices
specially designed for intradermal injection.
• the needle has to be inserted into the skin at a 5 to 15-
degree angle..
Intradermal Injection
• For Intradermal
• 26G or 28G
• Green or Brown
hub
• Length depends
on patient and
site
Intradermal Injection
Intravenous injection
• For Intravenous
• 18G, 19G, 20G,21G,
22G, 23G, 25G
• Green or Brown hub
• Length is usually
3/4” winged infusion
needle
Intravenous injection sites
Intravenous injection sites
Drugs typically given by IV route
• Chemotherapy drugs such as doxorubicin,
vincristine, cisplatin, and paclitaxel
• Antibiotics such as vancomycin, meropenem,
and gentamicin
• Antifungal drugs such as micafungin and
amphotericin
• Pain medications such as hydromorphone and
morphine
• Drugs for low blood pressure such as dopamine,
epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dobutamine
• Immunoglobulin medications (IVIG)
•Any query
