TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the value of chest ultrasonography vs clinical examination for planning of diagnostic pleurocentesis (DPC) and found that ultrasound performed better than clinical examination when ≥ 10 mm fluid perpendicular to the skin were present.
TL;DR: In this paper, a transeptal puncture procedure is described, where a blunt outer needle and a second inner needle are disposed longitudinally through the lumen of the outer needle, wherein the inner needle is flexible, e.g., having a flexible portion and/or a bend or other nontraumatic conformation at its tip.
Abstract: Devices and methods for performing a transeptal puncture procedure are described. In certain embodiments, the device includes a blunt outer needle, and a second inner needle disposed longitudinally through the lumen of the outer needle, wherein the inner needle is flexible, e.g., has a flexible portion and/or a bend or other non-traumatic conformation at its tip.