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World Journal of Emergency Medicine ›› 2016, Vol. 7 ›› Issue (3): 173-177.doi: 10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2016.03.002

• Original Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Prospective evaluation of point-of-care ultrasound for pre-procedure identification of landmarks versus traditional palpation for lumbar puncture

Shadi Lahham(), Priel Schmalbach, Sean P. Wilson, Lori Ludeman, Mohammad Subeh, Jocelyn Chao, Nadeem Albadawi, Niki Mohammadi, John C. Fox   

  1. Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA
  • Received:2015-12-18 Accepted:2016-04-06 Online:2016-09-15 Published:2016-09-15
  • Contact: Shadi Lahham E-mail:slahham8@gmail.com

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to determine if point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) pre-procedure identification of landmarks can decrease failure rate, reduce procedural time, and decrease the number of needle redirections and reinsertions when performing a lumbar puncture (LP).
METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing POCUS pre-procedure identification of landmarks versus traditional palpation for LP in a cohort of patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit.
RESULTS: A total of 158 patients were enrolled. No significant difference was found in time to completion, needle re-direction, or needle re-insertion when using POCUS when compared to the traditional method of palpation.
CONCLUSION: Consistent with findings of previous studies, our data indicate that there was no observed benefit of using POCUS to identify pre-procedure landmarks when performing an LP.

Key words: Ultrasound, Lumbar puncture, Spinal tap