How dangerous is sledging?

Abstract

the following 9 cm spinal needles with a Quincke point through the skin: 20 gauge, 22 gauge, 25 gauge (Becton Dickinson, Ireland), 23 gauge (Terumo Corporation, Japan), and 0-2 ml 1,, plain lignocaine5 (Astra Pharmaceuticals, Sweden) through a 25 gauge intravenous needle (Becton Dickinson, Ireland).The order of the needles (and thus the sites of insertion) was randomised.The volunteer was unaware of the needle size used or whether local anaesthetic had been infiltrated.After each needle or infiltration of lignocaine the volunteer completed the visual analogue scale.Results were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired observations.The volunteers' ages ranged from 26 to 54 years; two were women.The chart shows the pain scores.When the pain scores with the different needles were compared statistically significant differences existed between all the needles (p<0 01); an exception was the difference between the 22 gauge and 23 gauge needles, which was not significant.The finer needles caused less pain.There was also a significant difference (p< 0 01) between the pain scores of the 20 gauge, 22 gauge, and 23 gauge needles and the infiltration of lignocaine.There was no significant difference in pain scores between the 25 gauge needle and the infiltration of lignocaine.No learning effect was detected.The number of volunteers recording their lowest pain score was seen after the infiltration of local anaesthetic and the insertion of a 25 gauge needle.