Material and sedation-analgesia in the neonatal lumbar puncture procedure

Lumbar puncture (LP) is a frequent procedure during the neonatal period. Correctly performing this technique can avoid many of its complications.

To evaluate the LP procedure in neonates in Spanish hospitals, studying the type of material and the sedation-analgesia used.

Cross-sectional study conducted in Spain gathering data through a survey research distributed by email through the Segurneo-SEN Hospital Network and the Spanish Neonatal Society. Data on the LP technique in neonates were collected.

A total of 301 participants were analysed. Most professionals used a trocar needle with a stylet as the first option (89.7%); however, when the LP failed or was blood-stained, 32.2% changed the type of needle. A total of 143 doctors gave their subjective feeling about the type of needle: they only use trocar needles with stylet (41.3%), the technique is easier using scalp-vein needles (32.2%), there is less probability of a blood-stained LP, or failed using scalp-vein needles (7.7%), they choose the type of needle depending on the size of the newborn (10.5%), indifference when using one type or another needle (8.4%). Almost all (99%) of the surveyed doctors used some type of analgesia. The most widely used measures were topical anaesthetics (90.3%) and sucrose (82.2%).

Currently, the LP procedure in the neonatal period is mainly performed with a trocar needle with a stylet and with the widespread use of different analgesic measures.