01.11 Intraosseous

Intraosseous is into the bone marrow. The bone marrow is highly vascular, which means that drugs injected into the bone marrow are rapidly circulated. The needle injection is through the outer bone layer to the soft marrow interior. The injection is usually done just below knee. Intraosseous is not the first choice for drug administration. It is usually only done after two attempts at inserting a line to do an intravenous infusion have failed. Examples of when intraosseous can be used include, a child 5 years or younger who is unconscious, unresponsive and in immediate danger of dying. Intraosseus is also used when cardiopulmonary resuscitation support is required, and this is for patients of all ages, and in circulatory shock treatments where there is collapse of the circulation making cannulation difficult.