Non-Luer Butterfly Needle With One-way Valve for the Epidural Blood Patch: Does it Alter Blood Clotting?

The Department of Health recommends using equipment which prevents wrong route drug administration. However, the epidural blood patch requires equipment that connects to the intravenous and epidural route. To comply with these recommendations a non-Luer butterfly needle with one-way valve has been produced. The one-way valve and length of tubing has the potential to activate the clotting cascade. This could reduce the time clinicians have to utilise the blood in the syringe. Also any alteration in clotting could affect the therapeutic value of the epidural blood patch. The primary objective of this research was to determine if phlebotomy using this new 21G needle altered blood clotting, determined by thromboelastograph analysis, compared to a standard 21G hypodermic needle.