Abstract
Background
Needle aspiration is a common treatment of peritonsillar abscess (PTA). Point-of-care
ultrasound (POCUS) can be used to guide this procedure. We describe our experience
using a commercially available needle guide attached to an endocavitary ultrasound
probe for dynamic real-time POCUS-guided PTA needle aspiration.
Discussion
A convenience sample of patients were treated using the needle guide. The primary
author (P.K.) performed or supervised emergency medicine residents and PAs for each
case in which the needle guide was used. The electronic medical records were abstracted
for procedure success, various length of stay (LOS) data, and to determine use of
computed tomography imaging and otorhinolaryngologist (ENT) consultation. Dynamic
POCUS-guided needle aspiration using the needle guide (DNG) was performed on 8 patients.
There were no unexpected return visits to the ED or to the ENT clinic for any of the
patients. The median time to perform DNG was 9 min (range 8–17 min). Median LOS was
182 min (range 78–287 min). Median time from POCUS order to patient discharge was
82.5 min (range 66–237 min). Median time from starting procedure to discharge was
43 min (range 18–148 min).
Conclusions
The needle guide is a useful adjunct to assist in PTA drainage. It provided rapid,
safe, and efficient care. Additional research is needed to see how this technique
compares with more traditional methods of PTA drainage.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 21, 2022
Accepted:
December 13,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 8,
2022
Received:
May 29,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Uncorrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.
