Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 39, 198-201, Copyright © 1992 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

ARTICLES

The accuracy and variability of bolus injections with different sized syringes

SU Thobani and DJ Steward
Department of Anaesthesia, British Columbia's Children's Hospital.

The accuracy of bolus injections using different sized syringes was studied. A 1 ml bolus was delivered from a 1 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml, and a 20 ml syringe (n = 205). The 1 ml syringe was the most accurate (P less than 0.001) and the bolus delivered was the least variable (P less than 0.001). Variability increased as syringe size increased. A 3 ml bolus was delivered from a 3 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml, and a 20 ml syringe (n = 164). The 5 ml syringe was the most accurate (P less than 0.05) and the 3 ml and 5 ml syringes delivered a bolus with the least variability (P less than 0.001). A 5 ml bolus was delivered from a 5 ml, 10 ml, and a 20 ml syringe (n = 123); in this case there was no significant difference in the accuracy or variability of bolus among the three syringes. We conclude that for accuracy of small volume boluses (less than 5 ml), small-sized syringes should be used.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. J. Erstad, B. L. Erstad, and D. E. Nix Accuracy and reproducibility of small-volume injections from various-sized syringes Am. J. Health Syst. Pharm., April 15, 2006; 63(8): 748 - 750. [Full Text] [PDF]