The Department of Health recommends using equipment which prevents wrong route drug administration. However, the epidural blood patch requires equipment that connects to the intravenous and epidural route. To comply with these recommendations a non-Luer butterfly needle with one-way valve has been produced. The one-way valve and length of tubing has the potential to activate the clotting cascade. This could reduce the time clinicians have to utilise the blood in the syringe. Also any alteration in clotting could affect the therapeutic value of the epidural blood patch. The primary objective of this research was to determine if phlebotomy using this new 21G needle altered blood clotting, determined by thromboelastograph analysis, compared to a standard 21G hypodermic needle.
Ethical approval was gained from the Health Research Authority (North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee, REC Reference Number: 16/NW/0570). After informed consent, we enrolled participants
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
39
paired TEG analysis undertaken from participants with the two different needles
University Hospital Leicester
Leicester, United Kingdom
Reaction Time (R-time) (Minutes)
We will measure the thromboelastography (TEG) results of the patients blood with each needle. The TEG analysis will provide us with the R-time
Time frame: 1 hour
Maximum amplitude (millimetre) (MA)
We will measure the thromboelastography (TEG) results of the patients blood with each needle. The TEG analysis will provide us with the MA
Time frame: 1 hour
Lysis-30 (%) (LY30)
We will measure the thromboelastography (TEG) results of the patients blood with each needle. The TEG analysis will provide us with the LY30
Time frame: 1 hour
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