Analyzing the impact of subcutaneous injection needle, device, and administration characteristics on patient pain, anxiety, and safety: a systematic literature review
Mehul Desai, Keith Candiotti, Aaron Pinkhasov, R Brandon Hunter, Harman Chopra, Lisa Gorski, Samantha Shenoy · 2026
Read Analyzing the impact of subcutaneous injection needle, device, and administration characteristics on patient pain, anxiety, and safety: a systematic literature review by Mehul Desai, Keith Candiotti, Aaron Pinkhasov, R Brandon Hunter, Harman Chopra, Lisa Gorski, Samantha Shenoy (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13523121.txt.
Description
Mehul Desai and six co-authors published a 2026 systematic review of how needle and device choices affect injections under the skin. Such injections deliver many modern drugs, and small design details can change pain, anxiety, and safety. The team searched four databases and kept 62 studies that tied needle traits, such as thickness, length, and tip shape, or device traits to patient outcomes.
Thinner and shorter needles consistently cut reported pain and side effects like bruising and bleeding. Tapered, lubricated, and hidden needle designs lowered anxiety and raised satisfaction. Autoinjectors and prefilled syringes also helped. Results varied across studies, and many were too small or changed several traits at once. The authors call for cleaner studies that vary one trait at a time.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Mehul Desai, Keith Candiotti, Aaron Pinkhasov, R Brandon Hunter, Harman Chopra, Lisa Gorski, Samantha Shenoy |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 71 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |