Retained Acupuncture Needle

Safety:  Conditional

Risks: Thermal, Displacement

Conditions:

• Take precautions to limit and monitor for symptoms of thermal injury
• Needles must be present in subcutaneous tissue. If there is suspicion for a needle that has migrated or embolized, must be treated as shrapnel (see page for info)

Bottom line: MRI permissible, with precautions to limit thermal injury