Riassunto dello studio

Ninety-four patients scheduled for an elective surgery under spinal anesthesia were randomized to receive a lumbar injection with the use of a ShotBlocker (n=47) or a standard lumbar injection without the use of a ShotBlocker (n=47). The outcomes of interest included needle-associated pain on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), patient satisfaction on a 5-point Likert Scale, procedure time, the incidence of unintentional movements, and the number of needle reposition attempts. All outcomes were assessed immediately after completion of spinal anesthesia. Results revealed no statistical significant differences between the ShotBlocker and control groups in VAS pain scores (p=0.46), patient satisfaction (p=0.53), procedure time (p=0.51), or needle reposition attempts (p=0.52). However, the number of unintentional movements was statistically significantly lower in the ShotBlocker group compared to the control group (6.8% vs 31.8%, p<0.05).