What Happens If IM Is Given IV Or IV Is Given IM

Injections are among the most common health care procedures throughout the world. Intravenous (IV), subcutaneous (SC), and intramuscular (IM) are three most frequently used injection routes in medication administration.

Intravenous (IV) and intramuscular (IM) injection

IV injection is the introduction of a medication into the veins using a needle, and it is used when rapid absorption is called for, when fluid cannot be taken by mouth, or when the medication to be administered is too irritating to be injected into the skin or muscles. SC injection is administered as a bolus into the subcutis. IM injection is the technique used to deliver a medication deep into the muscles, allowing the medication to be absorbed into the bloodstream quickly.

Read Also: Overview Of Intravenous (IV) Administration

What Happens If You Inject A Intravenous (IV) Drug Into Muscle Or An Intramuscular (IM) Drug Into A Vein?

That depends entirely on the drug. Prescribing information for some medications notes that they can be injected via one or more routes (e.g., epinephrine can be delivered by IV, IM, or SC route), while prescribing information for the majority of injectable medications only describes one injection route. Guiding principles is that injection is not suggested for patients when oral formulations would be more appropriate and IV infusion is not recommended when IM would be possible.

When IV Is Given IM

The injection of intravenous drugs outside a vein is called 'extravasation.' Most medications won't make a significant difference. The effects can range from irritation all the way to tissue necrosis, but that really depends on the drug and the dose. If an IV dose is given IM then it is a lower than normal dose and you should be fine. The medicine will take longer to absorb but eventually it will. It will also take longer to clear.

Read Also: Overview Of Intramuscular (IM) Injection

When IM Is Given IV

Intramuscular drug into vein would mean that the drug reaches a higher peak concentration in your blood than it would have if it was injected in the muscle. So you could overdose on the drug. And since most IM doses are higher than IV, it sure is going to be an overdose. An example is Imitrex and Bentyl which can be lethal if given IV but safe when given IM.