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Review
. 2023 Jun 11;15(6):e40241.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.40241. eCollection 2023 Jun.

A Systemic Review of Spinal Needles Broken During Neuraxial Anesthesia

Thamer H Alsharif  1 , Amin G Gronfula  2 , Shifaa Turkistani  3 , Abdulkarim M Alshmlany  4 , Zikra Sharourou  3 , Hesham Aboueleneein  5 , Fawaz Alhamied  6
Affiliations
Review

A Systemic Review of Spinal Needles Broken During Neuraxial Anesthesia

Thamer H Alsharif et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Needle breakage during spinal anesthesia occurs infrequently and represents a serious complication with potentially adverse effects. The objective of this systemic review was to look at the incidence, risk factors, and preventative measures for broken spinal needles. A search of the literature on PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases and a manual web search was performed, with no filters and up to April 2023 from inception. Out of the 43 potential studies, 23 were included. The search terms for the full article reading were broken needle, spinal anesthesia, humans, and post-operative, and the exclusion criteria were systematic reviews, conference presentations, and non-full articles. A review of the 23 studies (24 cases) suggests an association between specific risk factors such as obesity and needle size and breaks. Identifying the risks and complications of needle breaks could help physicians modify their practice and inform their patients of any increased risks applicable to them.

Keywords: : pregnancy; broken needle; needle size; neuraxial anesthesia complications; spinal anaesthesia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. PRISMA Flow Diagram
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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