A Review of Textbooks and Research Articles on Intramuscular Injection Techniques for the Deltoid Muscle：Focusing on Injection Site Selection and Needle Puncture Techniques

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Nursing Art and Science Vol. 21; pp. 38 - 50
• Main Author: Maeda, Kosuke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society of Nursing Art and Science 20.08.2022; 日本看護技術学会
• Subjects: deltoid muscle; injection site selection; intramuscular injection; needle puncture techniques; 三角筋; 注射部位の選定; 筋肉内注射; 針穿刺時の手技
• ISSN: 1349-5429; 2423-8511
• DOI: 10.18892/jsnas.21.0_38

Intramuscular injection into the deltoid muscle may cause peripheral nerve damage and tissue damage. To avoid such damage, establishing safe intramuscular injection techniques and educating practitioners, including nursing students, on these methods is important. This study reviewed textbooks and research articles focusing on the selection of injection sites and techniques used during needle puncture and examined the appropriateness of the descriptions in textbooks and future research issues. The results showed that the injection site three finger widths below the acromion process is not necessarily a safe site for all subjects, and that it is necessary to clearly state in the text that the axillary nerve may be damaged depending on the size of the fingers of the person giving the injection and the size of the patient. The description of the depth of puncture according to the length of the needle should also have been reviewed as soon as possible. The accumulation of results of research on the course of the axillary nerve in the deltoid muscle, and the verification and confirmation of the degree of thickness of subcutaneous fat for each method of grasping the subject’s arm, were suggested as future research.