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The increasing use of paracentesis has prompted us to look into medical devices that might be useful for making the technique quicker and safer. Therefore we have designed a sterile, disposable, painless and safe needle that allows us to perform paracentesis in 30 patients, extracting an average of 6,000 cc of ascitic fluid in about 120 minutes, without any serious complications.

Despite the extensive use of endoscopic diagnostic procedures, the proper standards aimed at preventing electrical hazards are generally little known and inadequately observed. Cases of electrical injury ensuing from endoscopic manoeuvres may have gone unreported either to avoid legal consequences, or owing to incorrect identification of the true cause of the injury. The authors describe the most important safety standards dealing with the risks connected with the use of both endoscopic devices and electrosurgical units, and recommend that in the future more attention be paid to identifying and preventing these risks.