Suppositories..the pointy or the blunt end ?...

This little known classic has never been repeated, but it has sparked a debate that continues to this day: What is the best direction to place a suppository – pointy or blunt end first?

The authors challenged conventional wisdom as well as manufacturer instructions and tested their theory – that blunt end was best – on 100 unwitting patients.

The rate of needing to insert a digit in the anal canal to push the suppository further in was 1% in the blunt end group versus 83% for pointy end first.

Unwanted suppository expulsion rate was also lower in the blunt end group.

Since this is the only study of its kind, questions have been raised as to whether it should be practice changing.Also this study was done in 1991 and it is a call for further research.

Abd-el-Maeboud KH, el-Naggar T, el-Hawi EM, Mahmoud SA, Abd-el-Hay S. Rectal suppository: commonsense and mode of insertion. Lancet. 1991 Sep 28;338(8770):798-800. PMID: 1681170

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