Scrubbing needles: a simple and costless technique to improve needle tip visibility during US-guided liver interventions

Aims To evaluate the echogenicity of a commercially available needle, modified on the tip, by comparing two groups of patients undergoing to percutaneous biliary drainage. Methods In this retrospective analysis 16 percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) procedures performed on 16 oncologic patients were evaluated. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of eight subjects each; in the first group, a standard needle was adopted (group A); in the second group, the needle was manually modified to create a rough surface (group B), by scrubbing the tip with an 11 scalpel blade for 150 s all around its surface. To objectively quantify US needle tip visibility, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was calculated analyzing B-mode images by positioning region of interests in correspondence of needle tip and liver parenchyma. Results Needle tip echogenicity was significantly higher in group B where the needle tip was modified compared to control group A ( p value = 0.014). CNR, considered to objectively evaluate differences among needle tip echogenicity, was significantly higher in group B with respect to control group A ( p value = 0.018). Conclusions The proposed method, scrubbing a 22 gauge commercially available needle tip with a scalpel blade, represents an effective technique to improve needle visibility during US-guided punctures of the liver.