Syringes and Needles

Introduction

According to Chambers Dictionary, a syringe is

  • A medical instrument for injecting or drawing off liquid, consisting of a hollow cylinder with a plunger inside and a thin hollow needle attached; or
  • A similar device used in gardening, cooking, etc.



Syringes

Parts of Syringe

Syringes are available in several different designs and varieties.

  • Syringes are available in many sizes, with volumes ranging from 0.5 ml to 60 ml. Graduation marks on the syringes represent different increments depending on the size of the syringe.

There are 5 basic types of syringe tips.

Types of Syringe Tips

To maximize the measuring accuracy, the smallest syringe that can hold the desired amount of volume should be used; however, it should not be drawn up to the maximum capacity because the plunger could easily dislodge.

Syringes



Needles

Parts of Needle

Similarly, needles are available in many sizes, which are described by gauge and length.

  • The gauge of the needle corresponds to the diameter of its bore. The smallest needles have a gauge of 27, and the largest needles have a gauge of 13.
  • The length of a needle shaft usually ranges for 3/8 inch to 3 inches.



Filter Needles

Some needles have a 5-μm filter in them to filter out particulate matter (when dealing with medication in ampoules). In all cases, these needles should be only pulled or pushed in one single direction (that is to withdraw or injecting medication, but not both).

There are three points that I would like to highlight from a 2006 journal article:

  • Historically, fundamentals of nursing references prior to 1999 typically do not acknowledge the use of filter needles in preparing medications from glass ampoules as an important component of safe medication administration. Consequently, this led to unavailability of filter needles at the wards and nurse educators do not seem to perceive the importance of filter needle use.
  • The use of filter needles in aspirating parenteral medications from glass ampules was first recommended by Katz, Borden, and Hirscher (1973). Based on their observations during their anaesthesia clinical practice, intravenous medications packaged in glass ampules often became contaminated with glass particles when opened.
  • IV administration of glass particles may lead to complications, such as pulmonary thrombi and microemboli, infusion phlebitis, end-organ granuloma formation, and inflammation.



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