Risks Associated with Intramuscular Injections in the Dorsal Gluteal Site

All of the articles that were reviewed agreed that the dorsal gluteal injection site has risks and is not the best site for intramuscular injections. Four of the seven articles identified the possible risk of the dorsal gluteal intramuscular injection being injected into subcutaneous tissue instead of muscle. Five of the seven articles identified nerve damage as a potential risk to giving a dorsal gluteal injection. And one article mentioned the possibility of blood vessel damage. Two of the articles identified both nerve damage and injection into the subcutaneous tissue as a possibility in a dorsal gluteal injection. All of the articles reviewed suggested using the ventral gluteal site instead of the dorsal gluteal site for intramuscular injections in adults