The effect of needle reuse on piglet skin puncture force

Gibson, Troy; Blackie, Nicola; Owen, Kathryn

Abstract

The study investigated whether repeat-use of needles used to inject piglets with iron, influences the force required to puncture into piglet cadaver skin. Pig units were surveyed on needle reuse and injection practices, these findings informed subsequent laboratory-based experiments on needle puncture force into piglet cadaver tissues. A 21G 5/8” needle was reported as the most used nee-dle type (67.7%, n=31), with 80.6% reporting needle reuse; 38.7% changed the needle between lit-ters or earlier if damaged, 16.1% every three litters and 22.5% only when changing the needle when it felt blunt or damaged, after each injection session or when changing the bottle of iron so-lution. There was a significant difference in puncture force between first- and 36th-use (p0.999 and p=0.8313, respectively). Electron microscopy imaging showed appreciable damage to the needle tip after 12 uses. Repeat-use of needles in piglet cadavers increased the force of needle puncture compared to first-time use. When extrapolated to live animals, the use of blunt needles has the potential to cause pain and distress.

Citation

Gibson, T., Blackie, N., & Owen, K. (2022). The effect of needle reuse on piglet skin puncture force. Veterinary Sciences, https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9020090

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 10, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Feb 18, 2022
• Publication Date: Feb 18, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 10, 2022
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9020090
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1556613
• Additional Information: Had deadline to receive the free open access, hence it was submitted without pre submission acceptance.