needle expiration date??

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

ctts

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Messages
143
Reaction score
21
I hardly ever do discograms...but I have an intradiscal procedure coming up, and just noticed that the needles we have expired in Jan 2014. Obviously there is an inherent liability issue with using anything expired...but do you know if this is anything to be concerned about? The only thing I can think of is that somehow the sterile seal of the package could breakdown over time, so that the sterility might not be guaranteed beyond a certain date? Is it unreasonable to still use it?

Members don't see this ad.
 
One of our reps got back to me on this...he states:

"I would definitely not recommend using them as there is a sterility issue beyond a specific time frame. Also, given the higher risk of contamination for disc procedures I would air even further in the side of caution."

I guess that was what I was expecting to hear. I was just surprised to see that they had an expiration date.
 
I would ask your rep how they determine an expiration date on a needle. I suspect it has more to do with the way that they get you to buy more product.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I have asked half a dozen PharmD's how they arrive at expiration for meds and none of them know. I would love to see and science on how the date is selected. I also suspect it has more to do with sales than science.
 
I have asked half a dozen PharmD's how they arrive at expiration for meds and none of them know. I would love to see and science on how the date is selected. I also suspect it has more to do with sales than science.

For what it's worth, I used to date a PharmD and she said the expiration date is based on whatever arbitrary date a company checks to see if a drug has maintained potency. For example, they decide to check at 6 months. Still potent, there's your expiration date. They don't keep testing until it actually loses effect. If it actually did show a decrease in effect, they'll maybe try at 3 months instead. Again, won't keep checking in between 3 and 6 months. No idea if that's accurate across the board, or even at all, but sounded like something pharma would do.
 
Top