Author(s)

Sakiko Sakamaki, Yuko Yasuhara, Kazushi Motoki, Kensaku Takase, Tetsuya Tanioka, Rozzano Locsin

Department of Medical Technology Office Inspection Technology, Tokushima Prefectural Central Hospital, Tokushima, Japan.
Department of Neurosurgery, Tokushima Prefectural Central Hospital, Tokushima, Japan.
Department of Nursing Management, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan.
Department of Nursing, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA.
Graduate School of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan.

An intramuscular injection (IMI) is an injection given directly into the central area of a specific muscle. Certain medicines need to be administered by the gluteal route for these to be effective. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of body mass index (BMI), subcutaneous fat, and muscular thickness of the dorsogluteal IMI site among healthy Japanese women. There were 39 healthy female subjects who volunteered and met the criteria. Their ages ranged from 40s to 60s (50.82 ± 6.04). With the data collected using the B-mode ultrasound images of the dorsogluteal site, it was found that the distance from the epidermis to the under-fascia (DEUF) of the gluteus maximus was dissimilar between the subject’s right and left buttocks. It was found that the distance from the epidermis to the iliac bone (DEI) was significantly more on the right than on the left buttocks. In the case of an adult Japanese woman with a BMI of 21 or more, the DEUF of the gluteus medius was found to be about 30 mm, and the DEI was approximately 50 mm or more. Based on these findings, it is recommended that a needle length of 38 mm (1.5 inches) can be safely used to administer IMIs to the gluteus medius muscle to effectively and efficiently deliver medications through the IMI route.

Intramuscular Injection; Gluteus Muscle; Subcutaneous Fat; Body Mass Index

Sakamaki, S. , Yasuhara, Y. , Motoki, K. , Takase, K. , Tanioka, T. and Locsin, R. (2013) The relationship between body mass index, thickness of subcutaneous fat, and the gluteus muscle as the intramuscular injection site. Health, 5, 1443-1448. doi: 10.4236/health.2013.59196.