Towards evidence based emergency medicine: Best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. BET 3: Advantages of ultrasound-assisted lumbar puncture.

A short cut review was carried out to establish ultrasound can assist. 9 papers were found of which 4 presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that using ultrasound assisted landmarks prior to LP improves success rate and reduces the number of attempts and traumatic taps. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/