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Postdural puncture headache and back pain after spinal anesthesia with 27-gauge Quincke and 26-gauge Atraucan needles
A M Schultz1, S Ulbing, A Kaider
1Department of Anesthesiology and General Intensive Care, University of Vienna General Hospital, Austria.
Background And Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the 26-gauge Atraucan needle shows any benefit on the incidence of postdural puncture headache (PDPH) and back pain as compared with the 27-gauge Quincke needle.
Methods:
We investigated 388 patients, 171 men and 217 women, who were receiving spinal anesthesia for subumbilical surgery. We compared spinal anesthesia via the 27-gauge Quincke needle in 202 patients (group Q) and via the 26-gauge Atraucan needle in 186 patients (group A).
Results:
The incidence of PDPH was 2.97% (6 of 202) in group Q and 2.69% (5 of 186) in group A. The incidence of back pain was 4.95% (10 of 202) in group Q and 5.91% (11 of 186) in group A. There was no statistically significant association of needle type, age, or sex with the incidence of PDPH and back pain.
Conclusions:
Both needles are associated with very low incidences of PDPH and back pain, which are not affected by which needle is chosen.