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[Intramuscular injections in children]

C Hünseler1, B Roth, R Pothmann

  • 1Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinderheilkunde, Universität zu Köln. christoph.huenseler@kksk.de

Schmerz (Berlin, Germany)
|March 9, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Intramuscular injections in children for medications like analgesics are often unnecessary and painful. Safer, effective alternatives like oral or nasal routes are available and recommended by global health organizations.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Medicine
  • Pharmacology
  • Pain Management

Background:

  • Intramuscular injections remain a common method for administering vaccines, premedications, and analgesics to children.
  • This route is associated with severe pain, increased complication risks, and unpredictable drug absorption.
  • Alternative administration routes are often available.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the necessity and safety of intramuscular injections in pediatric care.
  • To highlight the availability and benefits of alternative drug administration routes for children.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current pediatric injection practices.
  • Comparison of intramuscular route with alternative routes (rectal, oral, intranasal) for pharmacologic agents.
  • Analysis of pain, complications, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic predictability.

Main Results:

  • Intramuscular injections in children cause severe pain and unpredictable drug effects.
  • Equivalent or superior alternative routes (oral, rectal, intranasal) exist for many medications.
  • The use of intramuscular injections for analgesics and premedications in children is largely obsolete, except in emergencies.

Conclusions:

  • Intramuscular injections for non-emergency pediatric medication are outdated.
  • Prioritizing alternative routes aligns with World Health Organization (WHO) and International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) guidelines.
  • Transitioning away from routine intramuscular injections can improve pediatric patient outcomes and comfort.

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