Description:
<jats:p>Clinicians may find traditional lumbar puncture (LP) attempts fail due to indistinct landmarks in morbidly obese patients necessitating ultrasound localization or fluoroscopy. We believe a readily available teaching model is needed because many emergency physicians may be unfamiliar with ultrasound‐assisted LP. Review of current literature shows that there are few commercially available LP models suitable for use with ultrasound. Those on the market are expensive and have limited reusability. We have succeeded in creating a low‐cost reusable model for training health care professionals to perform ultrasound‐assisted LP. We believe there will be many benefits to using this model including: increase in emergency department (ED) LP success rates, decrease in number of radiology consults for fluoroscopy, increase in patient satisfaction, decreased waiting time in the ED, and fewer complications due to fewer needle passes. This model effectively reproduces the sonographic appearance of the lumbar spine and overlying soft tissue and aids in teaching bedside ultrasound‐assisted LP. The model has an opaque “skin” overlying a gel wax mold containing a lumbar spine. A catheter containing water is imbedded in the spine to simulate the spinal canal and cerebrospinal fluid. The skin allows for a more realistic procedure and can be removed for visual confirmation of a successful LP. In addition, successful needle placement will result in return of clear fluid. Construction of the model requires a commercially available lumbar spine and items found in craft stores with a total cost of approximately $100.</jats:p>