Author(s)

Tetsuo Nakayama^1*, Toshihiro Tanaka², Motoko Fujino³, Minoru Kino⁴, Yuka Kunitomi⁵, Keitaro Yatabe⁵

¹Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences, Laboratory of Viral Infection II, Tokyo, Japan.
²Department of Pediatrics, Shizuoka Kosei Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan.
³Department of Pediatrics, Saiseikai Central Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴Department of Pediatrics, Nakano Children’s Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
⁵Department of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs, Japan Vaccine Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.

We previously investigated the thickness of the epidermis and lengths from the skin surface to the muscle fascia and bone based on measurements taken from the ultrasonic echograms of Japanese infants aged 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 12 - 15 months. The appropriate needle length for intramuscular injection was 16 mm (5/8 inch) in Japanese infants at any age and site. In the present study, we examined these lengths in 21 infants with physical growth from 2 to 15 months. Average height increased from 58.5 to 73.6 cm and average body weight from 5835 to 9226 g until 15 months. The circumference of the thigh increased from 22.3 cm at 2 months to a maximum of 25.9 cm at 6 months, while that of the deltoid area was 15.2 cm at 2 months and 15.9 cm at 6 months. Subcutaneous mass (length from the skin surface to the muscle fascia) at the thigh increased between 3 and 4 months and decreased at 12 - 15 months and showed good relationship to the circumference of the thigh. Subcutaneous mass at the center of the deltoid area showed the same size until 6 months. Muscle mass (lengths from the muscle fascia to the bone) at thigh and deltoid areas remained the same until 6 months. Ultrasonic echogram is an effective tool for evaluating subcutaneous and muscle mass in young infants.

Intramuscular Injection, Subcutaneous Mass, Muscle Mass, Vaccines

Nakayama, T. , Tanaka, T. , Fujino, M. , Kino, M. , Kunitomi, Y. and Yatabe, K. (2018) Change of Subcutaneous Tissue Mass at the Deltoid and Thigh Areas in Japanese Infants Followed from 2 to 15 Months. Open Journal of Pediatrics, 8, 324-333. doi: 10.4236/ojped.2018.84033.