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Hayhoe S, McCrossan M, Smith A, Ellis D, Croft S, Mei MF.
Pain Clinic, Anaesthetic Department, District General Hospital, Colchester.
simonhayhoe@doctors.org.uk
Unselected, disposable acupuncture needles from various manufacturers and
retail suppliers were taken from a pool of donated and bought samples. Three
needles of each type were prepared for electron-microscopy. The needle tips
were inspected at two magnifications (x39.37 and x612.5): 52
electron-micrographs were taken of 31 individual needles from 11 different
types. No needle-tip looked perfect and significant faults were seen in
most; some appeared seriously deformed. The faults noted were: scratch marks
along or across the needle, metallic scuff, lumps and irregularities in the
needle surface, needle-tip stubbed or malformed, and needle point
off-centre. An additional test made was to wipe a number of needles firmly
on white paper tissue. Some left grey lines, and these were regarded as
evidence of metallic or oily residue from the needle surface which could
have been deposited in the patient. These unexpected findings, in a variety
of popularly used needles from well-respected suppliers, suggest that most
manufacturers need to reassess their quality control procedures.
PMID: 11926598 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Information resource:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11926598&dopt=Abstract |
