Rates of Epidural Blood Patch following Lumbar Puncture Comparing Atraumatic versus Bevel-Tip Needles Stratified for Body Mass Index

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FIGURE.
A, A conventional needle with a sharp bevel tip has a cutting tip with the needle orifice incorporated within the tip. B, A pencil-point atraumatic tip has a blunt tip. The orifice is not directly continuous with the tip but rather adjacent to it.

Table 1:

Characteristics of study cohort^{^a}

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Table 2:
Association of LP needle type and patient’s BMI
Variable 22W (n = 2177) 22Q (n = 758) 20Q (n = 1500) P Value
BMI (mean) 27.75 (SD, 7.11) 33.28 (SD, 10.06) 29.61 (SD, 8.11) <.001

Table 3:

Multiple logistic regression to predict EBP (n = 4435)

Table 4:

EBP numeric value outcome of each needle type with respect to the BMI subgroup

Variable	EBP	No EBP	P Value
BMI ≤25
Whitacre–Quincke			.12
22W (%)	17 (2.11)	787 (97.89)
22Q (%)	7 (4.14)	162 (95.86)
20Q–22Q			.70
20 ga (%)	23 (4.86)	450 (95.14)
22 ga (%)	7 (4.14)	162 (95.86)
BMI >25 to ≤30
Whitacre–Quincke			.03
22W (%)	8 (1.2)	661 (98.8)
22Q (%)	6 (3.8)	152 (96.2)
20Q–22Q			.69
20 ga (%)	19 (4.55)	399 (95.45)
22 ga (%)	6 (3.8)	152 (96.2)
BMI >30
Whitacre–Quincke			<.001
22W (%)	5 (0.71)	699 (99.29)
22Q (%)	15 (3.48)	416 (96.52)
20Q–22Q			.44
20 ga (%)	27 (4.43)	582 (95.57)
22 ga (%)	15 (3.48)	416 (96.52)