Health Promotion and Maintenance
37. When preparing an intramuscular injection for a 1-week-old infant, which needle would be the most appropriate for the nurse to select?
Health Promotion and Maintenance
37. When preparing an intramuscular injection for a 1-week-old infant, which needle would be the most appropriate for the nurse to select?
Test-Taking Tip
Recall that the gauge of the needle gets larger as the number gets smaller (i.e., an 18 G is larger than a 25 G). The best answer contains both the smallest gauge and the shortest length.
Content Area: Child Health, Medication Administration; Integrated Process: Nursing Process, Implementation; Cognitive Level: Application; Client Need/Subneed: Physiological Integrity/Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies/Medication Administration
Health Promotion and Maintenance
.
Answer 1 is incorrect since an 18-gauge (G) needle would be too large a diameter for a newborn infant. Answer 2 is incorrect since a 21-gauge, 1-inch needle would be too large for a newborn infant. Answer 3 is correct because the most appropriate needle to select for use in administering IM injection to a 1-week-old infant would be a 25 gauge, 5/8 inch long. Answer 4 is incorrect since a 1½-inch needle would be far too long for a newborn infant and also for most children.
