Suprapubic bladder tap aspiration in an elderly female

Suprapubic bladder aspiration is a rarely used technique for obtaining urine samples in the adult Emergency Department (ED). We report a case of an elderly woman in whom suprapubic aspiration (SPA) was safely performed using bedside ultrasound guidance. More conventional urine collection methods were precluded by the constraint on positioning imposed by the patient's flexion contractures. Ultrasound-guided SPA is a safe technique, that probably should be employed more frequently in the adult ED. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc.