Drs Pearce and Holtham [1] report a case of dural puncture with an occluded Tuohy needle and should be congratulated for reminding us all of this potential complication. We should all be cognizant of the potential for needle occlusion in any procedure, where needle patency is fundamental to success.

I was interested to note that the authors stated that they ‘could not find any similar previous reports'. However, they would have had to look no further than this esteemed journal for a discussion of very "similar previous reports" [2-4].

A Furlonger

Waikato Hospital,

New Zealand

E-mail: Andrew.Furlonger@waikatodhb.health.nz

No external funding and no competing interests declared.

References

1        Pearce B, Holtham A. An unusual case of dural puncture. Anaesthesia 2010; 65: 652-653.

2        Cohen S, Maestrado P, Zada Y. A simple technique to reduce the incidence of accidental dural puncture. Anaesthesia 2001; 56: 708.

3        Reynolds F. A simple technique to reduce the incidence of accidental dural puncture. Anaesthesia 2001; 56: 1129.

4        Furlonger A, Wrench I. Accidental dural puncture and an occluded Tuohy needle. Anaesthesia 2002; 57: 417-8.