Introduction: Reliable identification regarding interfascial spaces proves essential to achieve successful nerve block analgesia; however, ultrasound guided approaches are recognized as challenging, particularly in obese or pediatric patients. In prior cadaveric and clinical investigations, multiple approaches were evaluated to identify methods for measuring injection pressures as a function of needle position relative to fascia. Our previous study proposed simpler method of finding interfascial spaces with the needle tip. In this study, it was examined whether needle tip design influences injection pressures during regional anesthesia procedures, via an ex vivo pig specimen setup. Methods: A bespoke apparatus for tracking injection pressure was deployed to enable continuous measurement of intraluminal pressure generated while delivering saline throughout ultrasound guided peripheral nerve block needles conducted within pig thigh specimens. Delivery was performed using an infusion pump. Three types of needles of the same manufacturer (Pajunk) and same diameter (22G) but with different tips (Facet, Facet S and Sprotte) were used to measure injection pressures during penetration through tissues until interfascial plane hydrodissection was created. Statistical analyses were performed to compare pressure levels, variability, and temporal pressure trends. Results: Ninety ultrasound guided injections in porcine thigh tissue were analyzed, with thirty procedures per needle type. Injection pressure differed significantly between intramuscular, fascial puncture, and interfascial phases, showing a distinct puncture peak (p ≤ 3.44 × 10−14). Needle geometry significantly affected pressures across all phases (Kruskal–Wallis intramuscular p = 2.0 × 10−6, puncture p = 7.52 × 10−8, interfascial p = 9.2 × 10−5), with large pairwise effects (Hedges g up to 1.51). The classical tip produced the highest intramuscular and higher interfascial pressures, the sharp tip required the lowest puncture pressure, and the lateral tip yielded the lowest intramuscular and interfascial pressures. Conclusions: Needle tip geometry substantially influences pressure dynamics throughout the injection process, with the classical design associated with the highest fascia-penetration injection pressures and the sharp needle exhibiting the lowest, while the lateral design associated with lowest intramuscular-penetration and interfascial pressures.
Mateusz et al. (Thu,) studied this question.