Does a small size needle puncture cause intervertebral disc changes?

Ana Carolina Issy, Vitor Castania, Joao Walter Silveira, Marcello Henrique Nogueira-Barbosa, Carlos Ernesto Garrido Salmon, Elaine Del-Bel, Helton Luis Aparecido Defino
2015 Acta Cirurgica Brasileira  
PURPOSE: Small size needles have been regularly used for intradiscal injection of innocuous/potential therapeutic compounds in experimental conditions, but also in clinic procedures, such as discography. Our aim was to investigate if a 30-gauge needle could trigger observable changes on intact intervertebral discs. We compared these effects to those induced by a large size needle (21-gauge), a well-known intervertebral disc degenerative model based on needle puncture. METHODS: Coccygeal
more » ... tebral discs (Co8-9) of adult male Wistar rats were punctured with a 21-gauge needle, while the coccygeal levels Co7-8 and Co9-10 remained intact. The 30-gauge needle was used to inject a safe volume of saline (2 µl) on both intact (Co9-10) and punctured (Co8-9) discs. MRI and histological score were performed at 2, 15 and 42 days after procedure. RESULTS: MRI analyses revealed significant reduction on signal intensity of 21-gauge punctured discs. Intact discs which received a saline injection through a 30-gauge needle also revealed significant alterations in the MRI signal when compared with control discs. No histological changes were observed in the intact saline injected discs at any time analyzed. CONCLUSION: Since significant intervertebral image changes were observed with a 30-gauge needle, cautious interpretation of the pharmacological inoculation findings is required.
doi:10.1590/s0102-865020150080000009 pmid:26352338 fatcat:vvw6v7fsxjcwli6s76cikehgwe