Tempo de gotejamento do líquido cefalorraquidiano com agulhas espinhais tipo Quincke / Time for cerebrospinal fluid backflow through Quinckle spinal needles

RESUMO

Background and objectives - Postdural puncture headache (PDPH) has discouraged many anesthesiologists to use spinal anesthesia, specially in young patients. It is accepted that PDPH results from the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to the epidural space, which is related to the size of the hole produced by the needle in the duramater. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time for CSF backflow in healthy patients undergoing spinal anesthesia with 25G, 27G and 29G Quincke needles. Methods - Sixty-nine patients undergoing spinal anesthesia were included in the study and allocated into three groups according to the needle gauge (25G, 27G or 29G). Following subarachnoidal punctureand removal of the mandril, time to filling of the needle hub with CSF was observed. - Results - Time for CSF backflow through 29G needles was significantly longer as compared to that observed for 25G and 27G needles. No differences were observed between 25G and 27G needles. Conclusions - The literature reports increased anesthetic failure and further reduction of PDPH with 29G Quincke needles. Additionally, the prolonged backflow time through 29G needles observed in this study should encourege the use of 27G needles, wich are similar to 25G needles in the regard