Approximately 20,000 arthrocentesis procedures are performed each year according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. These procedures are performed by orthopedists, rheumatologists, internal medicine and family practitioners. Unfortunately, there is a sharp rise in the number of medical errors occurring, either because the initial analysis of the synovial fluid was not sent in a timely fashion, the physician did not request the proper studies, or the lapse in time in getting back the synovial fluid from analysis. Errors also arise when the doctor does not put the aspirated fluid in the proper color coded tube for analysis. These medical errors have resulted in such catastrophic events as wrong diagnosis, loss of limbs, and death.
Through a new invention by Dr. Michael P. Angelillo, a local rheumatologist, these errors can be addressed and potentially eliminated. “I have been in practice for 20 years and have seen personally the ramifications of not following through with the diagnosis of synovial fluid once aspirated from a particular joint. At the time the synovial fluid is aspirated, it is imperative that the fluid be properly analyzed to avoid missing a potentially life-threatening diagnosis,” according to Dr. Angelillo. “If a particular physician aspirates the joint properly, but does not send the initial fluid back to the lab properly and results are not received in a timely fashion, the delay in treatment could be catastrophic,” he continues. A common example is a swollen, hot joint which is readily diagnosed as gout and not an infected joint because the physician did not have the proper studies done on the synovial fluid.
Dr. Angelillo has made available an arthrocentesis tray which contains all of the proper contents to perform an aspiration and contains a patented pad which absorbs excess synovial fluid. The pad can absorb 100 times its weight. The tray also contains a Fedex mailer for returning the tubes which contain the fluid to a special lab which analyzes the specimen. It provides an easy way to send the synovial fluid and a requisition slip for proper complete diagnosis. The specimen is picked up at your office and the results returned within 24-48 hours from Nationwide Laboratories in South Florida. The kit will sell for 50 cents.
“I have recently heard from a number of physicians who have used the tray and said they made diagnoses which they would have missed originally,” said Dr. Angelillo. “I am elated by the positive feedback and knowing that lives will be saved from a simple procedure using the arthrocentesis tray which will become the standard of care in the medical field.”
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