champagne tap

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

An indication of atraumaticity in the proceduralist's technique, warranting the reward of a bottle of champagne from their superior, the colour of which also matches that of the cerebrospinal fluid sample.

Noun

[edit]

champagne tap (plural champagne taps)

  1. (medicine, figurative, informal) A bloodless sample of cerebrospinal fluid from a lumbar puncture (colloquially, a spinal tap).
    • year unknown, Sandeep Jauhar, The Intern:Doctor's Initiation, Penguin Books India (→ISBN), page 39:
      When the needle finally perforated the sac around the spinal column, clear fluid bubbled back through the hub. The resident congratulated me on a “champagne tap”, free of blood. We sent the fluid off to the laboratory.
    • 2008, Emergency Medicine:
      While I can't vouch for the efficacy of this trick, anything that stacks the deck in favor of a “champagne tap” is worth a shot.
    • 2010, Tilda Shalof, A Nurse's Story, McClelland & Stewart, →ISBN, page 9:
      She told me earlier that she was looking forward to performing it and hoped for a “champagne tap”.
    • 2014, Anna Donald, Mike Stein, Ciaran Scott Hill, Selina Chavda, The Hands-on Guide to the Foundation Programme, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 184:
      If no vessels are hit, you may obtain a ‘champagne tap’; if this clear-coloured CSF is obtained on your first ever attempt, then custom dictates that your senior should buy you a bottle of champagne to celebrate!