Are We “Squeezing The Balloon” When Reducing the Risk of Occupational Infection? Reply to Pan et al.

摘要

To The Editor—Under a witty title, Pan et al.1 described a needlestick injury that occurred while a cytopathologist was performing fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) using the modified method that I and my colleagues proposed2 to eliminate the needle manipulation involved in classical FNAC. They relate that the needle shot out when the cytopathologist depressed the plunger to extract the material obtained by aspiration, and they suggest a possible cause: the needle was clogged by a colloidal clot aspirated from a thyroid nodule. Unfortunately, the needle bounced and lodged in the cytopathologist's scalp. With no other argumentation, they assume that clot aspiration is inherent to the modified method of FNAC and so is a new injury risk associated with use of the modified method.