Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Jun 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEpidural catheter insertion: the effect of saline prior to threading in non-obstetric patients.
The effects of injecting normal saline 4 ml through the epidural needle before catheter passage on ease of catheterisation and incidence of certain complications were investigated in 189 non-obstetric patients. The use of saline had no effect on ease of catheterisation, with 84.2% of Group S patients (saline, n = 95) and 88.3% of Group C patients (control, n = 94) having the difficulty of passing the catheter rated as "easy" (P = 0.31). ⋯ Epidural venous cannulation occurred in 6.3% of Group S patients versus 11.7% of Group C patients (P = 0.30). We conclude that the use of 5 ml of normal saline prior to catheter threading provides no significant benefit in improving the ease of catheterisation or decreasing the incidence of catheter complications.