Intramuscular injections into the buttocks: are they truly intramuscular?

To radiologically determine if intramuscular (IM) injections into the buttocks are truly intramuscular.

This was a prospective study conducted during a 6 month period beginning in October 2004. Fifty inpatients were recruited from a single tertiary referral hospital. Approval was obtained from the hospital research ethics committee and informed written consent was acquired from all participants. Prior to computerised tomography (CT), each patient received an IM injection of their prescribed medication along with 1 mL of air into the upper outer quadrant of the buttocks. CT images were subsequently analyzed by two radiologists to determine the position of the injected air bubble and to assess whether it was intramuscular or subcutaneous in position. Body mass index (BMI), distance to injection site, subcutaneous fat and muscle thickness were also measured.

Overall, only 32% (n=16/50) of patients had intramuscular injections, with the majority of injections (68%, n=34/50) being subcutaneous. When analysed by gender, 56% (n=14/25) of males had intramuscular injections while in females, the efficacy rate was significantly lower at 8% (n=2/25).

The majority of assumed intramuscular injections are actually subcutaneous.