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What Needle Diameter Should Physician Use When They Perform Lumbar Puncture ? A Randomized Controlled Trial

NCT01481922 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE4 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 62

Last updated 2016-03-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study is intended to help guide the choice of needle diameter when performing a lumbar puncture.

Smaller spinal needles have been shown to decrease rate of adverse events such as post-lumbar puncture headache and hearing loss.

The main drawback to using smaller needles is diminished flow rate; some textbooks recommend using needles no smaller than 22 gauge because of the slow flow rate though others recommend smaller needles, namely 22-24 gauge.

Some authors have described a successful use of spinal needles as small as 25 gauge when performing a lumbar puncture.

The investigators do not believe that the flow-rate difference between 22 and 24 gauge needles is significant enough to justify using the larger needles.

The investigators trial will compare the Whitacre 22 gauge and Whitacre 24 gauge needles for flow rate, and incidence of the known complications of pain during procedure and backache at 8 and 15 days post-procedure.

The investigators will also look at whether smaller needles are associated with less pain during the procedure and less backache the next 2 weeks after the procedure.

Conditions

  • Post-lumbar Puncture Headache
  • Backache

Interventions

DEVICE

whitacre 24 gauge

Whitacre 24 gauge spinal needle 3 inches 1/2. Manufactured by Becton Dickinson

DEVICE

whitacre 22 gauge

Whitacre 22 gauge spinal needle 3 inches 1/2 manufactured by Becton Dickinson

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • funding: McGill Emergency Medicine 2010 Grant Competition

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • McGill University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Liam Durcan, MD, FRCP(c) · Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute, McGill University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2011-11-30
Primary Completion
2013-02-28
Completion
2013-02-28

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01481922 on ClinicalTrials.gov