PURPOSE: To evaluate tests performed to confirm the position of the Veress needle inserted into the left hypochondrium for creation of pneumoperitonium. METHODS: One hundred patients were submitted to laparoscopic procedure with left hypochondrium puncturing. Needle positioning tests were evaluated. The aspiration test was considered positive when organic material was aspirated; the injection test was considered positive when no increased resistance to liquid injection was observed; the recovery test was considered positive when the liquid injected was not recovered; the saline drop test was considered positive when drops of saline in the syringe disappeared quickly; the initial intraperitoneal pressure test was considered positive when pressure levels were £ 8 mmHg. A positive aspiration test indicated iatrogenic injury, whereas a positive result in any of the other tests indicated that the tip of the needle was correctly positioned in the peritoneal cavity. Sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the tests were calculated by correlating results considered true positives (a), false positives (b), false negatives (c) and true negatives (d), according to the formulas: SE = [a/(a + c)] x 100; SP = [d/(b + d)] x 100; PPV = [a/(a + b)] x 100; NPV = [d(c + d)] x 100. RESULTS: With regard to the aspiration test, SE and PPV were not applicable, SP was 100% and NPV was 100%. With regard to the injection test, SE was 0%, SP was 100%, PPV was inexistent and NPV was 90%. Both recovery and saline drop tests yielded the following results: SE was 50%, SP was 100%, PPV was 100% and NPV was 94.7%. The initial intraperitoneal pressure test yielded the following results: SE, SP, PPV and NPV were 100%. CONCLUSIONS: When inserting the Veress needle into the left hypochondrium, a negative aspiration test guarantees the absence of iatrogenic injury; the injection test is not reliable to determine incorrect needle positioning, but it accurately detects correct needle positioning; recovery and saline drop tests are not reliable to determine correct needle positioning, but they accurately detect incorrect needle positioning; the initial intraperitoneal pressure test is reliable to determine both correct and incorrect needle positioning, and proved to be the most reliable of the tests analyzed.

Os autores apresentam a proposta de utilização de fitas de nylon (braçadeiras) em cirurgias videoendoscópicas ou convencionais. Estas braçadeiras foram idealizadas para amarração de cabos elétricos. Efetuaram estudo experimental em ratos brancos (teste de comportamento biológico) e cães (ligaduras vasculares e de intestino) com bom resultado técnico e demonstrando escassa reação tecidual na presença deste material. Ficaram confirmadas a exeqüibilidade, a praticidade, a segurança e a economia na utilização das mesmas, sugerindo que possam ser aceitas como um método alternativo na prática cirúrgica.

PURPOSE: To test the efficacy of the puncture in the left hypochondrium as an alternative method. METHODS: Sixty-two patients randomly distributed into two groups were studied: Group LH, puncture in the left hypochondrium (n=30), and Group ML, puncture in the abdominal midline (n=32). The following were assessed: needle positioning tests, number of failed attempts at needle insertion, and time needed for creation of pneumoperitoneum. Gas flow, volume and intraperitoneal pressure were recorded at every 20 seconds, until a 12 mmHg pressure was reached inside the peritoneal cavity. RESULTS: A similar number of positive results for the needle positioning tests were observed in both groups. Two failed attempts to reach the peritoneal cavity were observed in Group ML and one in Group LH. The time necessary for the creation of pneumoperitoneum was on average 3 minutes and 46 seconds for Group LH, and 4 minutes and 2 seconds for Group ML. Average gas flow, volume and pressure were equivalent for both groups. CONCLUSION: Puncture in the left hypochondrium was as effective as puncture in the abdominal midline for the creation of pneumoperitoneum.

Carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum has a protective effect against bacterial peritonitis induced in rats.

Aspiration, liquid flow and saline drop tests are important, whereas recovery test is inconclusive. Initial pressure of approximately 5 mm Hg indicates that the tip of the needle is in the peritoneal cavity. The peritoneal cavity should hold ten times as much volume of gas as the preperitoneal space. The increase in pressure and volume in the peritoneal cavity can be predicted by statistics.