OBJECTIVE To compare rates of local reactions associated with two needle sizes used to administer routine immunisations to infants. DESIGN Randomised controlled trial. SETTING Routine immunisation clinics in eight general practices in Buckinghamshire. PARTICIPANTS Healthy infants attending for third primary immunisation due at 16 weeks of age: 119 infants were recruited, and 110 diary car...

HYPOTHESIS The incidence of sentinel node (SN) metastases from invasive breast cancer might be affected by the technique used to obtain biopsy specimens from the primary tumor before sentinel lymph node dissection. DESIGN Prospective database study. SETTING The John Wayne Cancer Institute. PATIENTS AND METHODS We identified 663 patients with biopsy-proven invasive breast cancer who underw...

A. Continuous Gradients 1. Measure the volume of the DNA solution. For every milliliter, add exactly 1 g of solid CsCl. 2. Warm solution to 30C to facilitate the dissolution of the salt. Mix until dissolved 3. Add 0.8 mL of ethidium bromide (10 mg/mL in water) for every 10 mL of DNA/CsCl solution. 4. Mix the ethidium bromide solution with the denser DNA/CsCl solution. 5. The final density shoul...

STUDY DESIGN An in vitro biomechanical study using aged human and adolescent porcine discs. OBJECTIVES To find the leakage pathway and effect of needle gauge on the degree of disc injury post anular puncture. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Spinal needles are widely used for minimal invasive disc surgeries and disc degeneration/regeneration research. Applications of anular puncture require diffe...

BACKGROUND A solid pseudopapillary tumour of the pancreas (SPTP) is a rare neoplasm. AIM We herein present five cases of SPTP diagnosed using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided fine-needle biopsy (FNB) using a needle with side fenestration (ProCore-needle). METHODS From January 2011 to June 2012 in five patients with SPTP tissue acquisition was carried out with a 19-gauge (4 patients) or a ...

The incidence of epidural needle-induced post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) in parturients following dural puncture with a large bore (18-gauge) needle has been reported to range 76-85%. We describe seven cases in which the performance of epidural anesthesia in parturients was complicated by an unintentional dural puncture with an 18-gauge epidural needle. In all seven cases, the unintentional...

OBJECTIVES To design microneedles that minimize pain, this study tested the hypothesis that microneedles cause significantly less pain than a 26-gauge hypodermic needle, and that decreasing microneedle length and the number of microneedles reduces pain in normal human volunteers. METHODS Single microneedles with lengths ranging from 480 to 1450 microm, widths from 160 to 465 microm, thickness...

BACKGROUND Wrist blockage of median and ulnar nerves before treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis with botulinum toxin (BTX-A) reduces discomfort and improves accuracy of BTX-A injections, but can be associated with mechanical/chemical injury. OBJECTIVES We sought to compare locoregional anesthesia of median and ulnar nerves using conventional 25-G x 0.50 x 13 mm gauge needle with short 30-G x 0....

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS Although Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS)-guided tissue sampling is widely used, the optimal sampling strategy remains subject of debate. We evaluated practice patterns within the international endosonographic community. PATIENTS AND METHODS An online questionnaire was sent to 400 endosonographers from the United States, Europe, and Asia. RESULTS A total of 186 (47 %) e...

Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) sets in situ and forms apatite with excellent osteoconductivity and bone-replacement capability. The objectives of this study were to formulate an injectable tetracalcium phosphate-dicalcium phosphate cement (CPC(D)), and investigate the powder/liquid ratio and needle-size effects. The injection force (mean +/- SD; n = 4) to extrude the paste increased from (8 +/-...