title: Prospective evaluation of point-of-care ultrasound for pre-procedure identification of landmarks versus traditional palpation for lumbar puncture.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study is to determine if point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) pre-procedure identification of landmarks can decrease failure rate, reduce procedural time, and decrease the number of needle redirections and reinsertions when performing a lumbar puncture (LP).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing POCUS pre-procedure identification of landmarks versus traditional palpation for LP in a cohort of patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 158 patients were enrolled. No significant difference was found in time to completion, needle re-direction, or needle re-insertion when using POCUS when compared to the traditional method of palpation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consistent with findings of previous studies, our data indicate that there was no observed benefit of using POCUS to identify pre-procedure landmarks when performing an LP.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Shadi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lahham
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Priel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmalbach
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Sean P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ludeman
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Subeh
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Jocelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Nadeem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Albadawi
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: Niki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California 92868, USA.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fox
keywords: Lumbar puncture; Spinal tap; Ultrasound