Safe Injection Practices

The following recommendations apply to the use of needles, syringes, and intravenous delivery systems:

• Use aseptic technique to avoid contamination of sterile injection equipment.

• Do not administer medications from a syringe to multiple patients, even if the needle or cannula on the syringe is changed. Needles and syringes are sterile, single-use items; they should not be reused for another patient or to access a medication or solution that might be used for a subsequent patient.

• Use fluid infusion and administration sets (i.e., intravenous bags, tubing, and connectors) for one patient only and dispose appropriately after use. Consider a syringe or needle/cannula contaminated once it has been used to enter or connect to a patient's intravenous infusion bag or administration set.

• Use single-dose vials for injectable medications whenever possible.

• Do not administer medications from single-dose vials to multiple patients, or combine leftover contents for later use.

• If multi-dose vials must be used, both the needle and syringe used to access the multi-dose vial must be sterile.

• Do not keep multi-dose vials in the immediate patient treatment area and store in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Discard if sterility is compromised or questionable.

• Do not use bags or bottles of intravenous solution as a common source of supply for multiple patients.

For more information about preventing unsafe injection practices, please visit the CDC Injection Safety page.

• CDC publications on injection safety

• More resources and materials from the CDC and the One & Only Campaign.

•  Learning Podcast: Injection Safety for Nursing School Students - New York State Department of Health

• 2012 Vermont Department of Health Infectious Disease Bulletin article on the One & Only Campaign.