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An In Vitro Study to Evaluate the Utility of the "Air Test" to Infer Perineural Catheter Tip Location JOURNAL OF ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE Kan, J. M., Harrison, T. K., Kim, T. E., Howard, S. K., Kou, A., Mariano, E. R. 2013; 32 (3): 529-533

Abstract

Injection of air under ultrasound guidance via a perineural catheter after insertion ("air test") has been described as a means to infer placement accuracy, yet this test has never been rigorously evaluated. We tested the hypothesis that the air test predicts accurate catheter location greater than chance and determined the test's sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values using a porcine-bovine model and blinded expert in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia. The air test improved the expert clinician's assessment of catheter tip position compared to chance, but there was no difference when compared to direct visualization of the catheter without air injection.

View details for Web of Science ID 000315835900018

View details for PubMedID 23443194