Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparison of Ultrasound-Guided and Landmark-Based Lumbar Punctures in Inexperienced Resident Physicians.
We sought to determine whether US-guided lumbar puncture reduced the rate of lumbar puncture failures for providers at an academic teaching hospital with variable lumbar puncture and US experience compared to the traditional landmark-based technique. ⋯ The use of US guidance to assist in lumbar punctures did not improve the procedural success rate over traditional landmark techniques in an academic setting with novice providers. Although using US for procedural guidance significantly decreased the number of attempts, it seemed to have no effect on postprocedural pain or the time to obtain CSF.