ABSTRACT

Introduction: Arterial puncture is a commonly used procedure to perform an arterial blood gas analysis. However, is painful and might compromise reliability of the values obtained. Currently, there is still controversy about the benefit of adding a local anesthetic before the procedure. Material and methods: This is an open-label trial comparing the single use of 5% lidocaine with placebo in patients who are referred to our laboratory for an arterial blood gas analysis. Results: We included data from 200 patients who were referred to perform an arterial blood gas analysis. The mean age was 56 years (SD 18) and 52.5% were women. Overall mean pain score recorded by visual analog scale was 6 mm (SD 13.7); however, the maximum pain reported was 67 mm. Compared with placebo there was no difference in pain intensity (5% lidocaine group 5.6 mm, SD 13.2 vs. placebo group 6.7 mm, SD 14.2; p = 0.57). Conclusion: The topical use of 5% lidocaine thirty minutes before performing an arterial puncture for blood gas analysis does not reduced the intensity of pain compared to placebo.

KEYWORDS

Arterial blood gas analysis, pain, local anesthesia, lidocaine.

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